Novaspace forecasts VSAT-equipped vessel fleet will exceed 600,000 as demand for digital operations, crew welfare, and high-capacity connectivity accelerates
Paris, France| July 2026 — The maritime satellite communications market is entering a new phase of growth as next-generation satellite networks transform connectivity at sea. According to Novaspace’s newly released Maritime Satellite Communications, 14th Edition, global maritime satellite service revenues are projected to grow from $2.28 billion in 2025 to $3.79 billion by 2035, driven by accelerating adoption of NGSO (Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit) services and increasing demand for always-on connectivity across commercial and recreational fleets.
The report forecasts that the global fleet of VSAT-equipped vessels will surpass 600,000 by 2035, with growth increasingly fueled by smaller vessels adopting broadband connectivity to support digital operations, regulatory compliance, crew welfare, safety, and operational efficiency.
As maritime digitalization accelerates, satellite capacity demand is expected to increase nearly fivefold over the next decade, from 500 Gbps today to approximately 2.5 Tbps by 2035, reflecting the growing reliance on bandwidth-intensive applications across the maritime industry.
“NGSO networks have fundamentally changed the economics and performance of maritime connectivity,” said Vishal Patil, Senior Consultant at Novaspace. “Over the next decade, they will become the backbone of maritime communications, delivering higher capacity, lower latency, more flexible services, and a significantly improved user experience for vessel operators worldwide.”
The report identifies NGSO adoption as the primary driver of market transformation. Although deployment timelines have been modestly affected by delays to Amazon’s LEO constellation, NGSO service revenues are still expected to reach $3.25 billion by 2035. Lower-cost terminals, simplified installation, improved network performance, and increasingly competitive service offerings continue to accelerate adoption across all major vessel segments.
This shift is rapidly changing the competitive landscape. NGSO services represented 48% of maritime satellite service revenues in 2025 and are forecast to account for 86% by 2035. At the same time, NGSO systems are expected to support approximately 98% of total maritime satellite capacity demand, fundamentally reshaping how connectivity is delivered at sea.
Despite this transformation, the report finds that GEO satellite networks will continue to play an important role. Many commercial operators are adopting multi-orbit connectivity strategies that combine GEO and NGSO services to improve resilience, global coverage, and service continuity. Rather than replacing GEO, the market is evolving toward integrated, hybrid network architectures.
About the Report
Novaspace’s Maritime Satellite Communications, 14th Edition provides comprehensive analysis of the global maritime satellite communications market across five key segments:
Merchant Shipping
Passenger Ships
Leisure Vessels
Fishing Vessels
Offshore Oil & Gas
The study examines market trends, competitive dynamics, satellite operators, maritime service providers, equipment vendors, regulatory developments, pricing, capacity demand, and value-added services. Each segment includes five years of historical market analysis and a 10-year forecast covering addressable market, equipped and active vessels, ARPU, bandwidth demand, capacity usage, service revenues, and capacity revenues.
About Novaspace
Novaspace is the leading independent consulting and market intelligence firm dedicated to the global space sector. Leveraging over 40 years of industry expertise, the company supports public and private stakeholders across the entire space value chain with high-impact, data-driven advisory services, combining management and technology consulting, market intelligence, and executive summits to help organizations navigate complexity, manage risk, and capture growth opportunities.
Trusted by more than 1,200 clients in over 60 countries, Novaspace operates globally with offices in Bangalore, Brussels, London, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toulouse, and Washington, D.C.
Visit nova.space for more.