Satellite technology: Advances in connectivity

If the only problem companies in the broadcast satellite sector had to contend with was the bit growth – and thus demand for greater bandwidth - resulting from higher resolution (UltraHD), superior colour accuracy (HDR) and immersive sound (e.g. Dolby Atmos), their lives would be relatively straightforward.

That they’re not is a function of a phenomenon – well in evidence at IBC2018 – that the satellite business is now about so much more than delivering what used to be called ‘television’.

With the meteoric rise of OTT (revenues up in 2017 by 41% over the prior year to close $12 billion, forecast by Convergence Research Group to reach $16.6 billion this year and $25.6 billion in 2020) and the ‘land grab’ for the whole home on the part of many operators, it’s no longer just about filling screens.

The black cube in the corner of the lounge is no longer a mere set-top box – it’s becoming a significant communications gateway through which all a household’s data will pass.

Market forecasting is a notoriously precarious business, but Intel says there will…