Public and private investment data
From INVESaTWIKI
Contents |
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT DATA IN THE FIELD OF EARTH OBSERVATION
The global economy for remote sensing is described below in terms of its underlying forces and several important complications in the market.
Underlying forces
During the past several decades, technological advances
have significantly reduced the costs of launch
vehicles and spacecraft. Frost and Sullivan sized the
market at $1.5 billion in 1995, and it estimated the world
market would reach $6.5 billion by 2007. The three
underlying forces driving the world market are: demand,
supply, and trading mechanisms.
A potent self-reinforcing dynamic exists between
economic growth, trade, and technology. The wealth
effect, resulting from increased economic growth, spurs
an increased demand for goods and services. The
incentive for greater trade enables greater technological
development, which in turn drives economic growth.
These benefits often get funneled into defense development
for jobs, security, and better technology.
The inherent duality of remote-sensing technology,
with its potential to be used for constructive and
destructive purposes, infuses international trade with
heightened significance. Ironically then, the prevalence
of remote-sensing technology begets the opportunity to
turn the technology against its creator. International
trade is therefore the source of both economic good and
harm. It remains to be seen which side will dominate.
Nevertheless, as will be described, the array of forces in
action compels participation.
Demand: The US military shows signs of increasing its
dependence on remote-sensing surveillance. For instance,
$3.7 billion or 22% of the $17 billion spent on
the recent war in Afghanistan was on classified
surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence.
Scientists have a natural predisposition to work
cooperatively in order to understand complex, global
phenomena, inasmuch as the purpose of science is to
form a cohesive, universal description of the world.
Since the very beginning of the Space Age, scientists
have sought collaborative venues to pool information.
The very first weather satellite, TIROS, which was
launched in 1960, serves as a prime example: imagery
from TIROS was distributed internationally to meteorologists. Another example of scientific cooperation
occurred when US agencies promoted the sharing of
scientific information by disseminating data from the
polar METSAT (meteorological satellites) at no cost
to thousands of domestic and international users.
In both developed and developing countries, the space
sector represents the height of development, prestige,
and power, and these political and cultural incentives
spur development. Having the wherewithal to deploy
advanced technology gives nations international bargaining
power, especially when the technology is
considered ‘‘dangerous’’ to the ‘‘powers that be’’. For
example, China and other countries are expending
major resources on weapons development.5 Some
experts assert that foreign governments such as North
Korea, Sudan, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria have tried
to acquire nuclear weapons programs, not for threat
projection per se, but rather for a sense of legitimacy,
autonomy, and economic bargaining power. The former
director of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program, Khidhir
Hamza, argues that Saddam Hussein wants nuclear
weapons so he can operate autonomously from foreign
intervention.
Supply: Three of the most important US companies
involved in remote sensing are Digitalglobe (formerly
Earthwatch), OrbImage, and Space Imaging, Inc. These
corporations operate satellites and provide a range of
products, including images with resolutions of at least
1m. Space Imaging’s business practices illustrate some
important economic features of globalization. Space
Imaging has a host of partnerships worldwide in
Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Japan, and the Pacific
Meridian. These affiliates, in turn, are financially
independent and are responsible for sales and marketing
in their local economies. The Japanese affiliate is heavily
investing in its own R&D to enable vehicle tracking.
Additionally, Space Imaging’s acquisition and management
of former government programs, such as the US
government’s Landsat and Canada’s Radarsat programs,
demonstrates the convergence between military
and civilian uses of remote-sensing satellites.
Many foreign governments support commercial efforts
to develop and deploy satellites in their countries.
Additionally, some nations are acquiring small satellites
for Earth-observation applications. The joint China–
Brazil Earth Resources Satellite is designed for global
coverage. International commercial enterprises include
the French SPOT satellites (which provide images with
5m resolution), India’s IRS satellites, and Canada’s
Radarsat. Other countries like Germany, Japan, Israel,
and Italy are developing imaging satellites to collect
high-resolution images that can be sold on international
markets. For example, The Israeli Aircraft Industry, a
government-owned operation in Israel, formed a LEO
remote-sensing enterprise called Imagesat International.
Its motto seems to be tailored to individuals and
organizations that want covert information. Imagesat
offers ‘‘high-resolution satellite imagery, for anyone,
anytime, anywhere.’’ Perhaps, the statement is merely
a marketing tool, but even so, it is indicative of a
targeted group of consumers. Moreover, such ventures
will very likely pave the way for a new generation of
systems with even greater capabilities.
Trading mechanisms: The World Trade Organization
serves as the principal agency to bolster international
trade. The Uruguay Agreements strengthened the
General Agreements on Tariffs and Trades and made
it unlawful to impose ‘‘discriminatory’’ tariffs or trade
barriers; opened foreign markets to US products; and,
conversely, opened US markets to foreign products.
Although it is still possible to impose blanket restrictions
on both domestic and foreign products, it is more
difficult for nations to prevent technological diffusion.
One of the declarations from the Uruguay Round
Proceedings stated, ‘‘the United States government
calculated that approximately 85% of the world market,
measured by revenues, was covered by strong market
access commitments in the negotiations. With a few
specific exceptions on particular issues or market
segments, all the OECD nations (30 of the most
developed nations) were essentially bound to unconditional
market access on January 1, 1998.’’
Several international groups have been formed to
facilitate international cooperation in remote sensing.
One of these is the previously mentioned CGMS. Its
objective is ‘‘yto provide an informal forum for the
exchange of technical information on geostationary and
polar-orbiting meteorological satellite systems, as participants
seek to improve the transition and convergence
of appropriate R&D activities and operational programs.’’ [1]
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT DATA IN THE FIELD OF GNSS
Close and widespread links between GALILEO and the downstream industry
Close links between GALILEO and the downstream industry are of paramount importance to optimise the economic benefits in both directions: for the GALILEO programme to define the system features according to user needs, and for the downstream industry to get detailed and reliable information about system features and requirements to develop adequate and market attractive products and services. [2]
RTD funding possibilities and constraints
Frequently SMEs are missing the financial and human resources required to develop new and innovative applications and businesses in the GNSS domain. What can be done to support SMEs by customised RTD funding schemes, and notably to provide easy and targeted access to such funding for SMEs? [2]
Public funding opportunities for pilot projects
A considerable amount of public funding (around 100 MEURO per year) will be available over the next number of year to test new ideas and concepts. [3]
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT DATA IN THE FIELD OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Military
- What does the U.S. Navy really want from the commercial sector? Reliability and maintainability, COTS, open architecture, plug and play systems and the ability to lease spares and excess capacity.
- The U.S. military has determined that it will become self-reliant in terms of bandwidth requirements only by 2020, necessitating the need to incorporate commercial satellite services in its internal planning.
- Government market to generate $7.8 billion in satellite communications revenue through 2010.
Commercial
- While C-band and Ku-band capacity was split almost 50/50 in 2002, those bands combined will constitute less than 50% of overall capacity by 2010.
- By 2010, European broadband penetration will reach more than 40%.
- Broadband access subscribers in China grew from 3 million users in 2002 to more than 18 million by the end of 2004.
Broadcasting
- Analog television broadcasts occupied more than half of the FSS video capacity throughout the U.S. in 2002; however, analysts predict that the proportion of satellite capacity carrying high definition digital channels will exceed 60% in 2010 and will generate .3 billion in revenue.
- By year-end 2005, U.S. DBS operators will have an estimated 4.9 million DVR- based users, up from 1million users in 2002.
- Direct-to-Home TV services grew 10% and continued to drive overall growth in 2004.
Enterprise
- Retail companies using digital signage see a 30% increase in sales, while overall store revenues can increase as much as 12%.
- Distance learning, telemedicine and training are the top applications in demand among enterprise clients.
- More than 780,000 star TDMA sites have been sold to core enterprise customers, such as Ford, Mobil/Exxon, the U.S. Postal Service, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, Best Western and Safeway. [4]
References
[1] S.Hitchings
"Policy assessment of the impacts of remote-sensing technology".
[2] G.Dippel-Hens (GALILEAN working group report)
"GNSS business issues".
[3] B.Holt Andersen, M.Dillon, W.Forrest
"Market development - The route to the market".
[4] satellite2006.com
"Satellite Stats & Facts".
