The Dynamics of Growth in Worldwide Satellite Communications Capacity

The dynamics of growth in worldwide satellite communications capacity over the past two decades is closely related to general economic growth. The Department of Defense does not own all the satellite communications capacity it needs worldwide and must purchase capacity from commercial vendors. Understanding what contributes to growth in satellite communications capacity and predicting that growth would be useful to planners in their decisions to lease or buy capacity. The author shows that the market can adjust swiftly to a surge in demand, and thus there may be little need to buy satellite capacity in advance simply to ensure that capacity will be there if needed.