Satellite communications investments to exceed $20b in 2025

Telecoms vendors and operators, such as Apple, have started making significant investments.

Investments in the satellite communications industry in 2025 could well surpass US$20b, according to Christopher Baugh, partner and space and satellite research and insights lead at Analysys Mason.

Telecom vendors and operators have started making significant investments, as seen in AT&T, Google, and Vodafone's investment in AST SpaceMobile.

Apple has also announced plans to invest US$1.5b in Globalstar’s direct-to-device (D2D) constellation, and the European Commission (EC) has recently selected a consortium with participation from Deutsche Telekom and Orange to develop the IRIS2 constellation.

Alongside the consortium funding for the EC’s IRIS2 project, the Mobile Satellite Services Association is exploring investment in a shared constellation, supported by Ericsson and other players such as Dish/Echostar and Iridium.

These companies are set to fully embrace the D2D race with further expansions of their space assets. Deployment of constellations will move ahead, with Kuiper and Lightspeed joining Starlink, OneWeb, and mPower to make satellite broadband widely available to both consumers and enterprises.

“Commercialisation of early D2D services will become widespread as Skylo continues its expansion beyond the deal with Verizon and smartphone vendors incorporate satellite capabilities,” Baugh said.

“This will lead to annual satellite telecom service revenue reaching US$165b by 2033,” he said.