The maritime satellite communications market is entering a new phase of growth, with Novaspace expecting global maritime satellite services revenue to increase from $2.28 billion in 2025 to $3.79 billion by 2035. The 14th edition of its Maritime Satellite Communications report attributes this expansion primarily to the accelerated adoption of satellite services in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO), along with the growing need for continuous connectivity among commercial and leisure fleets.
The report indicates that the number of vessels equipped with VSAT technology will exceed 600,000 by 2035. This growth will not be limited to large vessels; smaller vessels are increasingly adopting broadband communications to support digital operations, regulatory compliance, crew welfare, safety, and operational efficiency.
Surge in Demand for Capacity
As digital transformation accelerates across the maritime sector, demand for satellite capacity is expected to increase approximately fivefold over the next decade, from 500 gigabits per second currently to around 2.5 terabits per second in 2035. This reflects growing reliance on applications requiring high bandwidth across various maritime activities.
Vishal Patel, a senior consultant at Novaspace, said that NGSO networks have fundamentally changed the economics and performance of maritime connectivity. He added that over the next decade they will become the backbone of maritime communications, thanks to higher capacity, lower latency, more flexible services, and an improved user experience for vessel operators worldwide.
Expected Dominance of NGSO Services
The report identifies NGSO adoption as the primary driver of the market’s transformation. Although deployment timelines have been affected to a limited extent by delays to Amazon’s low Earth orbit constellation, the report expects NGSO services revenue to reach $3.25 billion by 2035.
Lower-cost terminals, ease of installation, improved network performance, and increasing competition among service providers are helping accelerate adoption across vessel categories. NGSO services accounted for 48% of maritime satellite services revenue in 2025, while their share is expected to rise to 86% by 2035. NGSO systems are also projected to provide approximately 98% of total maritime satellite capacity demand.
Hybrid Networks Instead of Excluding GEO
Despite the shift toward NGSO, the report does not expect geostationary satellite (GEO) networks to disappear. Many commercial operators are adopting multi-orbit strategies that combine GEO and NGSO to improve resilience, expand global coverage, and ensure service continuity. Rather than fully replacing GEO, the market is moving toward hybrid and integrated network architectures.
Report Scope
The Novaspace report covers five main sectors in the maritime satellite communications market:
- Commercial shipping.
- Passenger vessels.
- Leisure vessels.
- Fishing vessels.
- Offshore oil and gas.
The report analyzes market trends, competitive dynamics, satellite operators, maritime service providers, equipment suppliers, regulatory developments, pricing, capacity demand, and value-added services. Each sector also includes a five-year historical analysis and ten-year forecasts covering the addressable market, equipped and active vessels, average revenue per user, bandwidth demand, capacity utilization, and services and capacity revenue.