Koichi Takahara, SKY Perfect JSAT Managing Executive Officer, Deputy Unit President of Space Business Unit:
One of our biggest advancements is the recent announcement regarding the procurement of an additional Software-Defined Satellite (SDS) for our fleet. This aims to strengthen our services in the Asia-Pacific region where there is demand, offering 50 Gbps-class capacity. With Superbird-9, another SDS on order, our goal is to enhance our overall offering by developing innovative, next-generation satellite communications services that realize “high-speed, high-capacity, high reliability, and competitive pricing.” SKY Perfect JSAT is taking the initiative to achieve the Universal Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), leveraging these SDSs, third-party Non-GEO satellites and High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) through global alliances.

We are not just a GEO satellite operator procuring new SDS satellites, but also transitioning into a comprehensive space business company.

Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom CEO:
For Thaicom, we were able to secure the next-generation software-defined HTS satellite, named THAICOM-10, to be launched in 2027 at our strategic orbital location of 119.5 degrees East and forging a long-term strategic partnership with Eutelsat Group on this satellite.

Yau Chyong Lim, MEASAT COO:
Serving nearly 500,000 Malaysians nationwide through our CONNECTme NOW (“CMe NOW”) rural broadband service offering up to 200 Mbps download speeds at improved data service packages.

James Trevelyan, Speedcast EVP Global Sales & Marketing:
As the world’s leading managed connectivity provider, Speedcast has led the way over the last year in bringing new-to-market LEO solutions to customers as part of a multi-path solution. Speedcast has been a leader in both Starlink and OneWeb technical assessments, performance testing, trials and customer deployments. We have become the leading global Starlink integrator, with the largest number of Starlink kit sales at 6,500 (end Q1 2024), as well as activations of Starlink Enterprise service globally. We were also the first service provider to get OneWeb service live across the globe, partnering with the LEO Constellation Operator on performance testing and customer trials. Mobility service was live in EMEA in early 2023, followed by the Americas and AUSPAC in late 2023. Speedcast was also the first to deliver a live deployment for OneWeb’s Maritime Service in 2023. Since then, we secured a strategic partnership to deliver OneWeb LEO services to customers, including strategic package options and pricing across all market segments only available through Speedcast. We also secured market exclusivity to deliver OneWeb services across the broader cruise sector globally.

This leadership in LEO innovation is critical to delivering a comprehensive hybrid solution for customers today.

Dr. Sunghee Lee, CONTEC CEO:
I am proud to say that CONTEC has accomplished a lot since last year’s ASBW 2023 event. But if I had to choose one, it would have to be becoming the first space startup to successfully list on the Korea Stock Exchange (KRX, KOSDAQ). Through this achievement, CONTEC was able to be recognized as a company that has shown tremendous growth and popularity for our unique full vertical chain service ground segment solutions, such as ground station engineering design/construction, ground-station-as-a-service (GsaaS), satellite imagery pre-processing, analytics and applications. For CONTEC, we are always striving to become a leader in the space industry not only in Korea but to continue to expand and build up our presence in the global space industry.

Michael Jones, ELA Group CEO:
Equatorial Launch Australia has had a number of significant accomplishments in the past year, including the completion of the design and preliminary engineering of the redevelopment of our spaceport, the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC), which is transforming the site into a multi-user commercial launch facility. We’ve also created a new “resident launcher” business model and signed one customer under that model. Other accomplishments include the release of the designs of our high-tech ASCALP launch pads and state-of-the-art Horizontal Integration Facilities. We believe the combination of these features makes the ASC a globally unique and extremely attractive spaceport option for launch vehicle providers and their payload customers.

The space sector globally is experiencing significant spaceport congestion, and we know that our offering, which has been formulated from extensive international research and conversations with customers, reflects a world-best approach to spaceport services. Being equatorially located also enables our customers to have operational freedom with multiple orbit options, adding to the appeal.

Ramsey Khanfour, ABS Chief Commercial Officer:
One of the key accomplishments over the past year was transforming ABS culture and the way of doing business. We refreshed the brand of ABS “Agility beyond Space;” we strengthened ABS’ position as a global operator, created focus groups for key verticals and signed partnerships for managed services based on adaptive business models—all this to put the company on a growth path for the future.

Naomi Kurahara, Infostellar CEO and Co-Founder:
We succeeded in contracting with several LEO satellite operators and were supporting them. Service deliveries to real customers is our success.

Yau Chyong Lim, MEASAT:
We anticipate continued growth from the data vertical, especially in the rural consumer segment. However, it is not just about providing more capacity but also offering digital infrastructure such as telehealth, e-commerce, rural entrepreneurship via innovative business models to this untapped market.

Other segments that show great promise to MEASAT today are government and secured communications for defence. Sovereign satellite communications remain crucial for government and military applications due to their wide coverage area and reliable connectivity. MEASAT is well-positioned to offer this service in Malaysia with its purpose-built satellites, well-positioned and coordinated orbital slots as well as local workforce based in Malaysia.

Michael Jones, ELA:
Considering we are a spaceport, and launch is our core business, launch is the obvious answer. But as a spaceport, we touch multiple verticals including ground systems and operations. We also need to stay [present] across manufacturing and space services, as these are critical to our customers’ missions.

In particular, in the next 1-3 years, we expect our innovative approach to spaceport management will have an important impact on how launch is viewed globally. We’re driving innovation in this vertical and bringing a lot of technology to the launch pad itself, as well as high specification integration and mission control services and infrastructure, so that our customers are working in world-class facilities. With many launch vehicles expected to come online over the next 1-3 years, we are in an excellent position to address a gap in the small to medium NewSpace market (up to 2000 kg to LEO) and provide new opportunities for precision launch. We’re preparing a spaceport tailor-made for this market.

Ramsey Khanfour, ABS:
There are key verticals that represent a sweet spot for ABS GEO assets, especially the ones requiring mission-critical communications with dedicated bandwidth and SLA, including government/UAVs, backhaul for MNOs, energy and maritime.

Naomi Kurahara, Infostellar:
For the short term, like the next 1-3 years, the trend of government-procured space-as-a-service is most exciting. This would help to improve space-related services in general. In addition, there will be more players and technology available for the commercial industry as well.

Dr. Sunghee Lee, CONTEC:
The space industry is very dynamic as technology is growing and the number of startups is continuously rising every year. There are two that CONTEC is most excited about.

In the ground station segment, there is a popular trend rising in the FSO (free space optical) laser communication and QKD (quantum key distribution) market. Space-to-ground laser optical communication allows larger amounts of data to be downloaded at faster speeds and with QKD technology, will hopefully combat the issues of security. There are rising startups in this market such as LCT (laser communication terminal) payload manufacturers like Astrolight and QKD technology experts like Craft Prospect that are gaining recognition for their technology. Optical ground station manufacturers like Cailabs and Safran [are] creating the ground technology for space-to-ground laser communications [as are] optical ground station providers like CONTEC, Leafspace and KSAT.

CONTEC plans to include laser communication technology for its constellation. Although CONTEC currently has 10 RF global ground stations available for service, it will expand with two optical ground stations open in Australia (service from September 2024) and Jeju Island, South Korea (service from February 2025).

James Trevelyan, Speedcast:
We continue to see steady growth in key sectors like energy, government and maritime. We have started to see rapid growth in the use of satellite in enterprise applications driven by LEO technology. Land mobility is an exciting area fueled by lower cost, smaller form factor user terminals and we expect our initial/traditional deployments to increase across multiple new geographies. [This will be] driven by increasing demand for connectivity everywhere, digitalization and increased market awareness of the role satellite can play in the Enterprise WAN—in all its forms.

Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom:
Thaicom’s vision is to provide innovative space tech solutions for the region. Therefore, on the one hand, we are growing our satcom business by leveraging our strength in the broadband satellite segment in key markets such as Southeast Asia and India by focusing on end-to-end rural connectivity for governments as well as for defense. The new market verticals that we see [bringing] new opportunities are direct-to-device and satellite IoT, in which we have a strategic partnership with Globalstar.

On the other hand, we have been pursuing new opportunities in the space tech arena and, in particular, geospatial intelligence focusing on the agricultural and environmental domains. We see this as the new S-curve for the company with great potential in the long run.

Koichi Takahara, SKY Perfect JSAT:
SKY Perfect JSAT aims to drive business growth and contribute to national security, including space security, by meeting new demands and aggressively investing in the expansion of space utilization.

In the telecommunications field, we provide geostationary defense communication services, satellite operation and teleport solutions and are also developing the capability to offer Satellite Quantum Key Distribution service in the future.

In the non-telecommunications field, we will be launching a geostationary-based Space Situation Awareness mission payload for optical monitoring of the geostationary orbit, and also strengthening the provision of remote sensing data services in cooperation with our partners in LEO earth observation constellations.

Yau Chyong Lim, MEASAT:
The transition from scarcity to abundance presents a complex situation for the satellite industry. While it opens doors for new opportunities, it also brings challenges that companies need to address.

Opportunities: With a more abundant satellite environment, satellite capacity becomes more accessible to smaller companies, research institutions and even individuals. The lower entry barrier for service presents opportunities for more collaborations and partnerships, allowing satellite operators to move down the value chain to be closer to their customers to expand service offerings and reach new markets.

Challenges: Competition for customers is getting very fierce, leading to price wars and potentially squeezing profit margins for companies. Long-term sustainability for some companies is questionable.

The companies that can adapt, innovate and offer unique value propositions will be better positioned to thrive in this new environment.

James Trevelyan, Speedcast:
We expect to see a significant supply influx in 2026 onwards. Whilst this usually translates to lower costs, those lower price points will also help to unlock new use cases for satellite. Bandwidth volumes continue to increase dramatically and in most cases, beyond our expectations. Although we can likely expect price pressures, the key to being successful through this period will be to ensure that our network continues to offer real value. Speedcast has been successful at achieving this through prior periods of supply and demand and pricing pressure, and we have the blueprint to continue to do so in the new multipath environment in which we now operate.

Ramsey Khanfour, ABS:
The satellite communications market is going through a major transformation; new players, new constellations and new business models. This of course represents pressure on traditional satellite operators. However, it is also an opportunity to innovate and synergize. Moreover, it is beneficial to customers where only a hybrid GEO-NGSO model can cater to demands and respond to the various applications’ needs.

Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom:
We foresee a significant increase in capacity in the future but, at the same time, we also see a significant need for data especially in the key markets that we serve in Southeast Asia and India. Therefore we see this more of an opportunity to provide cost-effective and managed service that is localized and customized to the exact needs of our markets.

Koichi Takahara, SKY Perfect JSAT:
We see the transition as an opportunity. Users expect internet connectivity to be faster and more reliable anywhere, anytime. This growing need for satellite resources suggests an opportunity for us, despite the abundance in the satellite industry from both GEO and LEO satellites.

Based on our demand projections, SKY Perfect JSAT will provide on-orbit capacity exceeding 100 Gbps after launching the new SDSs. These satellites will be capable of reconfiguring their service areas, capacity and frequency while in orbit to meet the evolving market demands. [They will be capable of] adapting to the situation whether it is facing scarcity or abundance, by effectively allocating capacity, and responding to customer needs.

Dr. Sunghee Lee, CONTEC:
Growth in on-orbit capacity provides an opportunity for CONTEC as a ground service provider to generate revenue and … meet the demands of satellite operators and surge the number of satellites to be launched in LEO orbit. On the other side, we will have other opportunities in terms of on-orbit crowding in LEO and GEO. CONTEC’s subsidiary, CONTEC Space Optics, a manufacturer of advanced electro-optical payloads is not only working on taking images of the Earth but taking images and getting data of objects and debris in space to help satellite operators navigate the vastly crowded space.

Naomi Kurahara, Infostellar:
It is an opportunity for Infostellar because we are providing ground capacity to satellite operators. Increased on-orbit satellites are a good opportunity for us. It is a good opportunity for the long term as well. On-orbit capacity and activity growth are vital to create space industry growth. If the satellite industry doesn’t grow, everyone in the industry will suffer in the near future. In that sense, the growth opportunity for the industry is also a growth opportunity for Infostellar.

Michael Jones, ELA:
This is an opportunity. With abundance in space, there’ll be a greater need for small, precision launchers to service these constellations. Including replacement of satellites, de-orbiting missions, etc.