ASEAN Satellite Communications Market

ASEAN Satellite Communications Market Analysis

The ASEAN Satellite Communications Market size is estimated at USD 1.59 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 3.13 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 14.48% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

Satellite communication has gained significant traction due to its excessive use in the defense and military sectors for transmitting information and establishing communication between military personnel. Further, it also helps with satellite-asset tracking and remote sensing. For instance, life safety at sea has been gaining importance in the defense sector. \

• The governments of various countries are investing in communication technology, such as navigation systems and vessel tracking. The governments of countries like China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia play a vital role in promoting maritime security, as the maritime industry adds to the region's economic growth.
• The need for broadband connectivity is still tremendous and only sometimes location-specific. Examples of such requirements include connectivity for users on airplanes, ships, and vehicles (including first responders) operating in both stationary and moving locations. These three platforms require constant connectivity throughout their routes, frequently taking them through underserved portions of big cities and sparsely populated regions. Such improvements are anticipated to support the expansion of the market under study.
• Since launching a satellite to send data is so sensitive, cybersecurity has become a fundamental problem for satellite communication. The difficulty stems from the potential harm such cybersecurity risks could do because the flaws are crucial to the operation.
• Launch systems, communications, telemetry, tracking and command, and mission completion are mission-critical weaknesses vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Its implementation needs to be improved by the excessive reliance on satellite communication for safe cyber capabilities during the satellite's lifetime.
• The high development and maintenance costs in SATCOM are expected to be a restraint for the region's satellite communication market over the forecast period. The use of satellite communication in transportation networks, including logistics, is expected to increase in the coming years, providing new and diverse growth opportunities.

ASEAN Satellite Communications Market Trends

media and entertainment will drive the market

• By enabling effective content distribution beyond geographic borders, satellite communication has completely changed the entertainment sector, resulting in a larger audience and new business models. The technology allows for the distribution of high-quality material that gives users an immersive experience while providing a reliable and affordable method of communication.
• Satellites provide a powerful new means for distributing communication media. Today at least 30 distinguishable media and multimedia combinations can be transmitted via satellite, where "medium" means a method of originating, encoding, transmitting, decoding, and displaying messages to their receivers. Satellite broadcasting is the distribution of multimedia content or broadcast signals over or through a satellite network. The broadcast signals usually originate from a station such as a TV or radio station. Then they are sent via a satellite uplink (uploaded) to a geostationary artificial satellite for redistribution or retransmission to other predetermined geographic locations through an open or secure channel.
• The development of streaming services and digital music platforms, in particular, has benefited the music industry. Satellite communication has allowed music to be distributed effectively, has given rise to new genres and independent artists, and has opened up new revenue streams for musicians and record labels. Satellite communication will play a significant role in content delivery as the entertainment sector develops, influencing it for years.
• The growth in OTT, particularly given the younger viewers who do not watch linear TV, threatens this segment's long-term viability. To protect this revenue, satellite operators, service providers, and technology vendors must adapt to the new reality of a hybrid world that still needs traditional linear video and OTT. While satellite may not be the most apparent technology of choice for OTT delivery, its unique ability to distribute high-quality content to Customer Premises Equipment, support CDNs, and offload congested terrestrial backbones for live content cannot be ignored, which is still creating an opportunity for the SATCOM service providers in the Media and Entertainment end-user industries.

Defence and Military forces will hold the significant share

• Indonesia has developed a comprehensive plan for military modernization to protect the island in the face of external threats. To reinforce its defense, the country has been focusing more resources on upgrading its overall military capabilities, creating demand in the SATCOM market in the country because of its application in defense communications. For instance, PT Len Industry and Thales inked a strategic partnership agreement in April 2022 to continue working together on various defense-related issues, such as radars, military satellites, electronic warfare, unmanned aerial vehicles, and battle management systems in the country.
• Emerging applications, business models, and falling device costs have been instrumental in driving IoT adoption, consequently increasing the number of connected devices and endpoints globally. The massive IoT technologies NB-IoT and Cat-M1 continue to be rolled out globally. The Massive IoT technologies are anticipated to comprise 51% of all cellular IoT connections overtaking broadband IoT cellular connections. This massive increase in the adoption of IoT is driving the need for satellite communication, thereby supporting the growth of the studied market.
• On June 2023, An Indonesian communications satellite announced the launch of an ambitious connection project. As part of the ambitious SATRIA project, the spacecraft builder, launcher, and satellite communications business SpaceX has launched a new communications satellite for Indonesia. With the $550 million investment, the island nation's schools, hospitals, and other public and governmental facilities would have access to high-speed internet. About two-thirds of Indonesia's 280 million people already use the internet, but connectivity could be better in the nation's remote, underdeveloped eastern islands. The potent satellite is designed to improve broadband access across thousands of islands in the country's vast archipelago.
• On May 2023, The launch of the A-SEANSAT-PG1 ("PG1") satellite has been scheduled for June 27, 2023, according to ANGKASA-X. With the launch of the PG1 satellite, ANGKASA-X claims it will pave the way for constellations of Low-Earth-Orbit ("LEO") satellites that will be developed and put together in Malaysia over the next few years. These satellite constellations will offer ASEAN nations a cutting-edge Satellite-as-a-Service ("SaaS").

ASEAN Satellite Communications Industry Overview

The ASEAN satellite communication (SATCOM) market is Semi-Consolidated, with the presence of major players like Inmarsat global limited, Lockheed Martin, Viasat Inc., Mu Space, and Advance Technology Company, and L3Harris Technologies Inc Players in the market are adopting strategies such as partnerships, innovations, mergers, and acquisitions to enhance their product offerings and gain sustainable competitive advantage.

In August 2022, Thailand Marine Department will use Thaicom to deploy thousands of Globalstar SPOT Gen4 satellite trackers. This is the first step in a significant new collaboration between Globalstar and Thaicom Public Company Limited, Asia's largest independent satellite operator. The SPOT Gen4 was chosen because of its ability to provide always-on connectivity independent of the availability of other communications networks.

In March 2022, Thailand's top satellite operator, Thaicom Public Company Limited, announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Globalstar, Inc., a global LEO satellite operator and a leading supplier of satellite IoT solutions and mobile satellite services, to work together on the establishment and operation of Globalstar's low-earth orbit satellite (LEO) ground facilities in Thailand and the deployment of regional commercial services, with an emphasis on personnel safety and management solutions.

ASEAN Satellite Communications Market Leaders

ASEAN Satellite Communications Market News

• June 2023: On June 19, Indonesia is set to launch its SATRIA-1 satellite, with operational deployment beginning in early 2024. The Indonesian government will launch the first Republic of Indonesia satellite, or SATRIA-1, to equalize development and include people in the digital economy. The SATRIA-1 satellite will be launched into space using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the United States.
• August 2022: Mu Space and Advance Technology Company Limited is a Southeast Asian aerospace manufacturer making aerospace components and offering satellite communication services. Mu Space tested its satellite parts with the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) from March 9th to March 11th, 2022, which is currently open for testing materials ready to be delivered. This is a certified test of the first communication satellite components created and manufactured by Mu Space Corp and the first to be tested by a Thai Space Agency and Space Research organization.