CEO View

A New Era for the industry

Pradman Kaul, President of Hughes

Not since the Kennedy era have we seen so much excitement about the space industry. That’s not only due to new launch providers, space exploration and new LEO constellations. Morgan Stanley estimates that the global space industry could exceed $1.1 trillion in revenues in the year 2040, and that “the most significant short- and medium-term opportunities may come from satellite broadband Internet access.”

At Hughes, our business is growing at a healthy rate globally because of these opportunities in every market sector —consumer, enterprise and government. We now have more than 1.3 million HughesNet subscribers, representing 69% market leadership in the U.S. and cementing our position as the largest satellite Internet service provider in the world. In Latin America, the launch of the Hughes 63 West hosted payload set the stage for us to add substantial capacity and expand HughesNet® satellite Internet service to reach more than 90% of people in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru—while also bringing consumer services to Brazil where we have operated in primarily the enterprise and government sectors for over a decade. Overall, as Comsys reports, we continue to be the number one global VSAT provider, with approximately 50% market share and over 7 million terminals shipped to customers in over 100 countries. Our award-winning JUPITER System is the world’s most-deployed satellite networking platform, powering services we operate in the Americas, Europe and India, as well as those of leading operators around the world, from enterprise and government networks, to Community Wi-Fi hotspots to cellular backhaul. 

An important element in our strategy is to work with partners to expand connectivity in emerging markets, focusing on the large populations of residences and businesses either unserved or underserved by terrestrial broadband services. As in the case of our joint venture with Yahsat, we are strengthening a position in the existing market to bring new services to Africa and the Middle East. In Latin America, we recently launched a partnership with Facebook to provide HughesNet Wi-Fi Hotspots in villages and towns across Brazil and Mexico, whereby a local merchant can sell Internet access on their premises to the public at an affordable, per-use price. And beyond geostationary satellite technology, we recently completed development and shipped the first system gateways for OneWeb’s LEO constellation, a global initiative where we are also an investor. Partnerships like these are a hallmark of our industry – and I believe in this new era will become even more valuable and integral to the success of each part of the ecosystem.

Satellite technology is evolving at an amazing rate with new services and applications launching daily. It’s clear that connectivity demand worldwide is continuing unabated, and that hybrid solutions of GEO, NGSO and terrestrial networks will satisfy this need universally in the most cost-efficient way. I am pleased to see the GVF leading the way as the voice of the satellite industry in promoting this “new global space age” and I look forward to continued success of all its contributing members— operators, system equipment and application vendors alike— as we work together to embrace the resounding call for connectivity around the globe.

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