Innovation Is Key to Driving Satellite Broadband Adoption in Southeast Asia

In February 2025, Kacific, a next-generation Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) broadband satellite operator, introduced its PointCast Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), which leverages self-pointing and calibration capabilities to simplify satellite terminal deployments. These technologies remove the need for skilled technicians to install satellite dishes, thereby reducing both the time for deployment and the implementation costs. The PointCast VSAT is able to support both Ku- and Ka-band satellites, thereby giving end users the flexibility to scale up their broadband connection as required. Lastly, Kacific reports that its PointCast solution brings about additional benefits, such as better signal performance of +1 – 2 Decibel (dB), high-degree pointing precision, cloud-based terminal monitoring, and autonomous safeguarding capabilities for extreme weather conditions.

The Southeast Asian region is rapidly emerging as a new hotbed for satellite broadband competition, especially in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Beyond regional players, such as Kacific (Singapore), MEASAT (Malaysia), Thaicom (Thailand), and Singtel (Singapore), global players in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space, including Starlink (United States) and Spacesail (China), have also launched or are intending to launch services in the region. The entrance of these global players has reported strong results, with Starlink reporting over 100,000 subscribers and more than 30,000 terminals deployed since it launched its services in the country in February 2023.

The growth of the regional satellite broadband market has partly been driven by aggressive national agendas to enable connectivity for rural populations. For example, the government of the Philippines has implemented the National Broadband Plan and Free Wi-Fi for All initiatives, which see satellite broadband as an important technology to connect remote locations. As part of this initiative, more than 400 satellite broadband sites were deployed in the North Luzon provinces. Similarly, Malaysia’s Jendela initiative also views satellite communications as a key strategy to plug connectivity gaps, while terrestrial networks are still being built out.

Regional players are also looking to partner with global players to gain a stronger foothold in their respective markets. For example, MEASAT is looking to collaborate with Spacesail to leverage the latter’s LEO constellation to provide new satellite communication solutions, such as Direct-to-Device (D2D) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In Thailand, state enterprise National Telecom is also working with Eutelsat OneWeb to provide satellite broadband services across Southeast Asia.

In a region where price sensitivity is high, lowering service costs has traditionally been a key priority. For example, operators such as MEASAT, Kacific, and Thaicom offer satellite broadband Wi-Fi hotspot services—where a single terminal is used to provide satellite broadband data to a large number of end users—to help reduce the cost of connectivity for the underserved areas. However, in the face of increasing competition, local satellite operators will need to innovate and demonstrate increased value to stand out in the market.

Kacific new solution demonstrates how satellite operators can look to innovate. By identifying the gap in the market, the company has introduced its self-developed PointCast to reduce the cost and time needed to deploy and maintain satellite terminals. By developing the terminal in-house, this also gives the company strong control over its value chain, thereby reducing its reliance on specialized terminal vendors to innovate and set prices.

Beyond these factors, some other differentiating factors that could be considered include:

• Integration of Renewable Energy: Integrating renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, at terminal sites can reduce reliance on local power grids, thereby enabling increased resiliency. Any additional energy generated could potentially be resold to the national grid, under schemes like “Net Metering” in the Philippines.
• Strong and Extensive Partner Network: Given the diverse cultural differences in the Southeast Asian region, satellite operators need to ensure that they have a strong partner network that can deliver optimal services to end users in a professional and timely manner.
• Offering Bundled Add-On Solutions: In addition to connectivity, satellite operators can also provide bundled value-added services, such as cloud, entertainment, marketplace, education, or security applications, to enhance the connectivity experience of end users.

In summary, the satellite broadband market in Southeast Asia is well positioned for growth. However, satellite operators will need to differentiate their services, beyond cost, to succeed in an increasingly crowded satellite communication market.