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IoT satellites to grow by 150% by 2029
Over 24,000 satellites are expected to be launched within the next five years.
The number of satellites available for IoT connectivity is forecasted to increase by 150% over the next five years, according to a study by Juniper Research.
In its latest report titled Global Satellite IoT Services Market 2024-2030, Juniper said that the number of operational satellites in orbit will rise from 10,000 in 2024 to over 24,000 by 2029.
This significant surge, the report said, was driven by the growing demand for connectivity in remote and nomadic locations from IoT network users. It also highlighted that 98% of satellites launched during this period will be in low Earth orbit (LEOs) due to the low cost of launches.
To meet this growing demand, the report underscored the importance of investing in multi-orbit satellite solutions which combine the low latency and high throughput from LEO satellites, and the extensive geographical coverage of geostationary Earth orbit (GEOs) satellites over a single service.
According to Juniper, this approach will enable satellite IoT providers to cater for the wide spectrum of IoT use cases, including data-intensive, and low power, wide area (LPWA) connections.
The report also advised satellite network operators to form strategic partnerships that will help bridge coverage gaps between LEO and GEO capabilities. It identified construction infrastructure, and logistics, as two key growth opportunities.
“The wide range of connectivity requirements, such as nomadic operational areas and conditional monitoring, necessitate the use of both LEOs and GEOs for complete service provision. Partnerships that enable the use of LEOs and GEOs for IoT networks will be essential to attract enterprise users in these sectors,” it said.
