Satellite operators admit demand uncertain
September 23, 2024
By Chris Forrester
The overwhelming message from last week’s Paris World Satellite Business Week was that of uncertainty over future demand. The sentiment was most pronounced in the Direct-2-Consumer (D2C) panel, where the operators talked of their plans and ambitions, but which were also tempered by anxieties of ‘if we build it will they come’.
Scott Wisniewski, president of AST SpaceMobile, said that while some view D2D as a risky market, he could have been speaking for his fellow panellists, and saying he firmly believes market evidence suggests otherwise.
“The consumer wants to be connected all the time. The phone dominates our life,” Wisniewski said. “We want to build a purpose-built network for cellular broadband. We are focused on being first. I think it is short-sighted to say people won’t pay for this connectivity. The telcos believe in it. People say it is a risky strategy, but we got investment from the likes of Google, Vodafone, AT&T and Verizon. We think there is a really big market to create here.”
Barbee Ponder, general counsel and VP/Regulatory Affairs for Globalstar, said that Globalstar is starting to look at other features as it continues to make its presence felt in the market. While the initial Text/SMS service with Apple was rolled out in the US, it is gradually rolling this out in other markets too. However, Globalstar had higher ambitions.
“We are going to invest, innovate, evolve and support the expansion of additional D2D services in the future. We are working as fast we can to bring D2D to as many regions as possible,” Ponder said.
Iridium’s CEO Matt Desch, already active for many years with its popular system amongst military and first responders, and with a new service (Project Stardust) on its way admitted “I don’t know how big the market will be. ”
“None of us know the size of the market, the willingness to pay, where it will be licensed,” he expalined. “But, it will all be incremental revenue [for Iridium]. If services work well and are positioned correctly, they will work well, starting with emergency services. The important part for us [at Iridium] will be things like emergency messaging.”