NSR Projects $18 Billion in Advanced Satellite Coding and Modulation Equipment Sales Over Next Six Years

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - March 18, 2009) - NSR today released its newest market intelligence and forecast report: "Advanced Satellite Coding and Modulation, 2nd Edition." The report examines market and technology trends for the use of DVB-S2, MPEG-4 and non-standard advanced technology and provides regional implementation schedules for ground-segment equipment used in satellite-delivered applications.

The report concludes that the market for advanced equipment will continue to experience healthy demand driven by application-specific factors under both new system deployments and migration scenarios. NSR projects global shipments of 142 million advanced units for end/receive sites and teleports between 2009 and 2014. Equipment manufacturers are expected to achieve revenues of over $18 billion for the sale of these units that include MPEG-4 DTH set top boxes and Digital Video Recorders (DVR), DVB-S2 modulators and IP receivers, MPEG-4 video encoders, advanced satellite broadband terminals with Adaptive Code Modulation (ACM), SCPC carrier-canceller and LDPC modem options, video edge processors, and integrated receiver-decoders (IRDs).

The study indicates that implementation schedules will be tightly associated with a range of factors that affect deployments on a regional, application and equipment-type basis. Factors facilitating growth include:

--  HD-ready households and content availability fostering churn-enhancing
    HD/DVR adoption in DTH
--  use of MPEG-4 compression for standard definition DTH distribution in
    high-growth markets such as India
--  wider manufacturer support for ACM in ASIC chipsets enabling new
    enhanced satellite broadband systems
--  cable digitization benefiting from HITS distribution
--  regional high space segment costs together with technology maturation
    shortening pay-back cycles for SCPC and IP trunking equipment using carrier-
    overlapping and flexible LDPC coding
    

"While all studied applications will benefit from the efficiencies introduced by synergetic advanced coding and modulation technologies, industry-wide forecasts are largely influenced by dual replacement and high growth scenarios taking place in the global DTH sector," noted Carlos Placido, Analyst for NSR and author of the report. "The combination of HD leadership in North American and European DTH, HD global expansion and MPEG-4 being used for standard definition in high growth DTH markets, such as India, point to a diversified market for advanced equipment sales that is expected to hold up well in the current economic cycle," stated Placido.

NSR also anticipates strong demand for advanced equipment to support a growing need to implement ACM in satellite broadband, HITS platforms targeting cable digitization and telco-TV, DVB-S2 digital media content distribution and advanced SCPC. "Although small in comparison to DTH, most multipoint or broadcast delivered satellite applications analyzed will benefit from the use of advanced equipment. Some niche sectors, especially those being capital-intensive, might see a slowdown during the current economic context, but drivers point to a healthy long term business," added Placido.

About the Report

"Advanced Satellite Coding and Modulation, 2nd Edition" is a multi-client report now available from NSR. NSR analyzed the most relevant applications for the use of standard and proprietary advanced equipment in a satellite-delivered context. The applications analyzed by NSR include direct-to-home (DTH) and satellite Free-to-Air (FTA); satellite broadband and IP trunking; video distribution and contribution; LDPC-coded SCPC carrier-overlapping; IP trunking; "Headend in the Sky" (HITS); and digital media distribution applications.

This second edition of NSR's comprehensive study on the advanced coding and modulation market has expanded in scope and depth, with more granularity in equipment forecasts for both end-side and teleport-side equipment, as well as the addition of categories not covered in the 1st edition. This report is the result of extensive research, development of application-specific "bottom-up" forecast models and interviews with industry-leading hardware suppliers and service providers in the sectors of DTH, video broadcast, satellite broadband, IP trunking, SCPC and digital media distribution. For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits and executive summary, please visit www.nsr.com or call NSR at 617-576-5771.

About NSR

NSR is an international market research and consulting firm specializing in satellite and wireless technology and applications. NSR's primary areas of expertise include emerging technology, IP applications, and broadcast services. With extensive expertise in all regions and a number of broadband sectors, NSR is a leading provider of in-depth market insight and analyses.