“The Future of Maritime Connectivity – 2024”. This is the fifth edition of the study, following our highly popular 2022 report which offers an in- depth analysis of the evolving landscape of connectivity in the maritime industry, highlighting significant changes that have occurred over the last two years.
The “battle of the Maritime Networks continues in earnest and Valour Consultancy estimates the total maritime satellite connectivity retail market was worth almost $21 billion in 2023. increasing from $1.8 billion in 2022.
The key component is increased end-user spending on Starlink’s maritime LEO service, combined with some vessels using Eutelsat OneWeb LEO service. Valour Consultancy estimates that more than 20.000 vessels were using Starlink’s maritime service by the end of 2023.
The maritime MSS market (L-band) was worth nearly $470 million in 2023, declining slightly from 2022. As of 2023, there were roughly 116.000 MSS terminals active worldwide subscribing to the legacy maritime satellite services. Both Inmarsat Maritime and Iridium hold strong bases in this market segment
The total global number of vessels with GEO VSAT services has levelled off at around 42,000 vessels as of the end of 2022 and 2023. It is likely the peak of the GEO VSAT commerciality has transpired and unless something befalls the LEO operators, the GEO service will become a backup similar to MSS. Global GEO VSAT revenues peaked in 2022, dropping in 2023, and are projected to decline even further in 2024. Interestingly, a small number of companies increased their GEO revenues in 2023, a key finding in the report
Overall, LEO connectivity is the gorilla in the room and has become the most significant disruptive force in the market in the last 20 years. Presently, only Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb are offering active maritime commercial services. Next year and 2026 will see the commercial launches of Project Kuiper (Amazon) and Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation.
This segment of the market is predicted to grow exponentially over the coming years the total revenue opportunity from 2023 to 2033 amounts to more than $10 billion. Author Joshua Flood believes that “the number of vessels subscribed to LEO will surpass the GEO VSAT numbers mid-way into 2026”
Valour Consultancy is a multi-award-winning provider of high-quality market intelligence and consultancy services, its latest study. “The Future of Maritime Connectivity-2024”, was developed with a record input from over 45 companies across the value chain: connectivity service providers, shipping owners, operators, software service providers, hardware companies, and satellite operators. The study offers detailed insights into the market dynamics: drivers, inhibitors, technology trends and the competitive environment, while market estimates and forecasts are provided out to 2033. A key value of this report is that it contains 34 company profiles that introduce, examine and quantify the impact and footprint of their connectivity services, products, service & product developments, business models, and partnerships. This includes contributions from IEC Telecom, Marlink, Inmarsat Maritime. Speedcast. Navarino, NSSLGlobal Viasat, Intelsat. SES, Iridium, Eutelsat OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, and KVH Industries
Source: Valour Consultancy
