Satellite demand to grow by 30%, says Bausch

Demand for satellite capacity globally will grow by about 30% between now and 2016, according to Romain Bausch, CEO of satellite operator SES.

Bausch, speaking at the Digital TV World Summit in London yesterday, said that demand for C- and Ku-band capacity would grow by about 30%, representing a compound annual growth rate of between 3-3.5%, driven by emerging markets including Asia. SES expects demand for Ku-band capacity to grow by 42%, and C-band to grow by 21%.

“HD and new video formats will grow fast, and we will see the commercial launch of [services including] ultra-HD,” Bausch said. He said there would be demand from multiple-language markets including India. While supply will generally match demand, removing the threat of a capacity crunch, supply is expected to exceed demand in Russia, leading to lower fill rates there and in North America, he said.