Before the advent of “new space”, the satellite communications industry was dominated by seven global players – Echostar/Hughes, Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES, Telesat, Viasat and Inmarsat. This has become six, following Viasat’s recent acquisition of Inmarsat. These companies predominantly operated GEO satellites, while new entrants focussed on opportunities in MEO and LEO.

This has rapidly and radically shifted and the majority of these global plays have now adopted a multi-orbit strategy by acquiring or building NGSO capacity. The rate of announcements and developments has been breathtaking.

With the shift in industry structure and complexity, Avanti has identified three key themes that will impact strategy, competition and customer choice:

1. As connectivity technologies develop and evolve, there is a strong convergence between terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity. Increasingly, the space industry should be seen as a segment of the global telecommunications industry rather than as a separate domain.
2. The growing number of orbits and connectivity options, while having the potential to deliver more choices and flexibility, risks confusing the customer and slowing down project delivery.
3. Capacity will be increasingly commoditised (NSR forecast that HTS fill rates will remain below 10% over the next 10 years), and as we see elsewhere in the telecoms industry, value will inexorably move down the chain from raw connectivity to services and solutions.

At Avanti, we implemented the first phase of our customer-centric strategy in 2018, which has delivered 270% growth in bandwidth revenues since then. Our customers span many industries including defence, aero, maritime, enterprise, rural communities and schools, satellite operators and governments. Each has specific, but diverse requirements, and those requirements are evolving.

As a result, our customer-centric multi-orbit strategy will have three key elements:

1. Avanti has already transformed into a customer-led business and will now embark on the next phase of its journey to meet customers’ requirements with multi-orbit solutions tailored to their needs on a global basis. The “customer-pull” vs. “technology-push” model will help cut through the “technology hype” to identify the best and most effective solutions.
2. Avanti is partnering with other GEO, LEO & MEO operators to procure capacity to deliver what works for our customers, rather than investing in building and extending coverage and capacity.
3. Avanti will also invest in managed service capabilities to deliver tailored solutions to meet the needs of our customers anywhere in the world.