Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Size

Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Growth Drivers & Opportunities

Increasing Usage of Satellite-Based Communications Drives Market

• The biggest driver for the market is the increasing usage of services that use satellite for data transmission and communication, such as international broadcasting, weather updates, military operations, and GPS and other GNSSs.
• As more TV channels emerge and more programs are telecast around the world at the same time, more satellites are needed in orbit.
• According to the Satellite Industry Association, 9,691 were circling the earth at the end of 2023.
• Further, the SpaceX-owned Starlink already has over 6,000 LEO satellites in orbit, and it plans to deploy a total of 12,000, with possibilities of further increasing this number to 34,400.
• As the number of satellites transmitting data increases, the RF spectrum they use becomes increasingly crowded.
• This makes its monitoring necessary to detect and eliminate any unauthorized data traffic on the spectrum.

High Infrastructure Cost Hampers Market Growth

• The biggest challenge the market must navigate is the high cost of not only spectrum monitoring solutions but the whole satellite program.
• As per the Indian government, the total expenditure on the realization of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission had reach INR 469.40 crore by April 2023, excluding the expenses on the actual launch.
• Moreover, it takes decades of R&D, simulations & testing, result analysis, modifications, and manufacturing to put a satellite in space.
• Further, satellite services, such as satellite phones and TV, are more expensive than those transmitted via terrestrial wires, which discourages the masses from using them.
• This limits the scope for satellite services to large and well-funded users, including militaries, major TV and telecommunications companies, and government agencies.

Cloud-Based Approach Could Offer Opportunities

• The satellite spectrum monitoring technique mainly focuses on local monitoring issues, enabling individual stations to communicate and exchange data to achieve ideal performance.
• The decision-making of monitoring stations depends on the information provided by other stations. If the information is erroneous, the overall system performance will be affected.
• In this technique, a limited amount of data is available, with no consideration of massive data from the global network, thus the decisions may be unilateral.
• This factor provides several opportunities to players operating in the satellite spectrum monitoring market.
• To solve the monitoring issue, a cloud-based satellite spectrum monitoring approach is being adopted.
• This approach enables sensor nodes to directly transmit monitoring data to the clouds, and then, it carries the multi-dimensional data with advanced cloud computing techniques having high flexibility and extensibility.
• In comparison to the traditional spectrum monitoring network, the adoption of a cloud-based monitoring approach reduces the overhead of communication links and increases their performance efficiency.
• For instance, SatSignature’s cloud-based spectrum analyzer service provides constant global satellite spectrum monitoring, recording, and analysis in web-based subscription packages.
• This service allows users to access spectrum monitoring on-demand across the world.

Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Analysis

Frequency Analysis

The SHF category dominates the market with around USD 1.7 billion revenue in 2024. The SHF functions in the range of 3–30 GHz and most frequency bands used for SATCOM fall under this range. The size of waves in this band provides the transmission of significant amounts of data without being susceptible to the weather.

In addition, the emergence of 5G connectivity also drives the market growth in this category. It is used in various applications such as high throughput satellite services, fixed satellite services, broadcast services, satellite uplinks and downlinks, weather radars, imaging radars, and air traffic control systems. Further, it also helps in accurate weather forecasting.

The EHF category will grow the fastest, at a CAGR of 8.4%, over the forecast period. The EHF band is vital for futuristic technologies, such as5G and 6G, which will transfer data at increasingly speeds. Space exploration, satellite communications, and high-frequency radars also utilize this frequency band, which drives traffic on it.

We have covered the following frequencies:

• Very High Frequency (VHF)
• Ultra-High Frequency (UHF)
• Super-High Frequency (SHF) (Largest Category)
• Extremely High Frequency (EHF) (Fastest-Growing Category)

Offering Analysis

The hardware solution category accounts for the larger revenue share, of 65%. This is on account of the fast and effective satellite signal monitoring solutions. The hardware solution monitors large blocks of the spectrum combined with precise digital modulation analysis to validate satellite signal integrity up to 27 GHz.

Software will likely witness a higher CAGR, of 8.0%, in the forecast period. With advancements in technologies, enhanced software is required to offer satellite-based services and monitor the spectrum. Further, hardware is a one-time purchase, whereas software needs regular updates, which brings in continuous revenue for providers. Additionally, the rising demand for data analytics during satellite spectrum monitoring propels the deployment of cutting-edge software, now increasingly on the cloud.

The segment has the following categories:

• Hardware (Larger Category)
  • Antennae
  • Spectrum/Signal Analyzers
    • Vector Signal Analyzers
    • Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers
  • Monitoring Receivers
  • Direction Finders
• Software (Faster-Growing Category)

End User Analysis

The military category is the largest, in 2024. Military organizations around the world widely use satellites for intelligence gathering, navigation, and secure communications. With the increasing outbreaks of political conflicts, countries are bolstering their military infrastructure with satellites, radars, and other high-tech equipment.

For instance, in March 2024, the Indian Air Force stated that it has planned an expenditure of INR 25,000 crore to bolster India’s space defense capabilities, by installing a surveillance satellite constellation and securing communication networks. Similarly, in 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense requested the Capitol for USD 26.1 billion to develop and procure spacecraft, launch vehicles and space command & control systems, acquire new terrestrial satellite terminals.

Media and entertainment are the fastest-growing category, over the forecast period. This is attributed to the increasing demand for high-quality streaming, live programs, and satellite TV services. In the same way, the burgeoning trend of over-the-top content puts strain on the satellite network, thus cluttering it and necessitating efficient and continuous monitoring. Additionally, the rising usage of high-definition programming requires more-efficient spectrum monitoring to offer quality services to consumers.

The following end users have been studied:

• Aerospace
• Maritime
• Oil & Gas
• Military (Largest Category)
• Government
• Media and Entertainment (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Others

Geographical Analysis

• The North American market is the largest, holding a share of 40% in 2024.
• This is due to the high presence of a large number of key players in the region, which are highly involved in developing and offering satellite spectrum monitoring solutions.
• The recent satellite launches from companies such as SpaceX and Amazon for broadband and internet applications will lead to the high use of wireless technology, making the unlicensed spectrum more crowded.
• APAC will have the highest CAGR, of 8.8%, during the forecast period.
• This is attributed to the increasing spending by the governments of India, Japan, China, and other regional countries on bolstering their space warfare and defense capabilities.
• Further, the growing sale of internet-connected gadgets, such as smartphones, GPS systems, and autonomous cars, drives the traffic on the satellite spectra.
• In the same way, the media and entertainment sector is booming in the region, led by OTT platforms and live broadcasts, thus necessitating more satellites.
• Further, governments are strengthening their infrastructure for 5G, remote sensing, weather forecasts, and other data-intensive applications.
• This propels the need to continuously monitor the increasingly crowded satellite spectrum to ensure consistent performance.

The report offers insights for the following regions and countries:

• North America (Largest Regional Market)
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • France
  • U.K. (Largest Country Market)
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • Japan
  • India
  • Australia(Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest Country Market)
  • Mexico (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of MEA

Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Share

The satellite spectrum monitoring market is consolidated because space exploration is a highly capital-intensive industry. Satellites are costly and difficult to develop, manufacture, launch, operate, and maintain, which presents high entry barriers in the market. Even the hardware and software used to monitor the RF spectra used by satellites are expensive and tricky to develop, which is why only established aerospace and IT firms thrive in this market. Further, solution providers often work under long-term partnerships with satellite operators, such as major telecom and TV firms, government agencies, and military organizations.

Satellite Spectrum Monitoring Market Company News

• In March 2024, Keysight Technologies Inc. validated test scenarios for non-terrestrial networks using Capgemini’s 5G New Radio distributed unit and central unit framework, which supports NTN functionality. Keysight utilized its Propsim channel emulator and UeSIM UE emulation RAN solutions, which copy the workings of a LEO satellite constellation.
• In March 2024, Keysight Technologies Inc. introduced a narrow-band NTT OTA test solution, co-developed with ETS-Lindgren. The system measures and validates the transmitter/receiver performance of NB-NTN devices.
• In February 2024, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. won a USD 579-million C-SAR IDIQ contract from the U.S. Space Force for military satellite communication tracking, telemetry, and command and control capabilities.
• In June 2023, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced the expansion of its Space Domain Awareness (SDA) network locations into India. The SDA network tracks space-based RF signals to identify key information about satellites in orbit, including position, health, maneuvering, and proximity to other satellites.