As Demand Rises, Will More Industries Switch to Satellite Communications for SCADA Equipment Monitoring?

By Mike Tate, COO & SVP Global Sales & Marketing, FreeWave Technologies

The world is rapidly becoming more industrialized. Oil companies are doubling down in the months ahead as worldwide oil demand is predicted to rise to 1.1 million barrels per day in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). While reports vary slightly, several sources indicate the wastewater treatment plant market will grow at a CAGR of between 6% and 7% from 2022 to 2027. As for agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization predicts a population of more than 9 billion by 2050.

Scaling production for industries with large-scale, remote operations means automating equipment and functions — and monitoring those automated systems from afar using fewer resources. Those operating in the far reaches of the world face challenges, including labor shortages, worker safety and compliance, remote equipment maintenance and rising capital expenditures. 

Satellite technology is one solution connecting a company’s data from the edge (where the data is collected) and getting it to the people making mission-critical decisions (more on this in a bit).

This is one reason it’s no surprise then that the global industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market size is projected to reach a staggering $1.69 trillion by 2030, up from last year’s value of $321.8 billion, according to Grand View Research.

As digital transformation across various industries kicks into high gear, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) — a decades-old but highly implemented technology heavily used by oil and gas, water treatment, energy and manufacturing — is adapting to meet the demands of modern industry, proving it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

This leads us to another reality that still comes as a surprise to some SCADA users: Satellite connectivity has emerged as one of the fastest, most reliable, and most secure methods of transferring data from remote IIoT devices to existing SCADA systems. Even better, today’s satellite systems are easy and inexpensive to deploy, and they make IIoT technology easier to scale. 

Space, it turns out, is the next new frontier for industrial leaders. 

Satellite Adoption’s Meteoric Rise

Futurists at the “McKinsey and the World Economic Forum 2023” predicted the space market to reach $1 trillion in the next decade with the number of satellites tripling during that time. 

While quick to acknowledge and adapt to changes that affect day-to-day operations and key performance indicators, SCADA users by and large have not been early adopters of satellite technology over the past decade, in part because of its historic reputation of being pricey, having high latency, and providing limited bandwidth.

How can companies be certain that satellite is the future-proof connectivity solution for remote operations? Follow the money. Satellite IIoT revenue is expected to surpass $130 million by 2032 in North America alone, according to Viasat. Globally, the compounded annual growth rate in that time is estimated at 27%. 

By sector, the oil and gas industry leads the pack, with satellite IIoT investment more than doubling over the next decade to about $115 million worldwide in 2032. Smart agriculture, transportation and mining also are pack leaders, with the utilities industry not far behind.

Growth might accelerate even faster were it not for the persistence of outmoded notions about satellite communications. When they think of satellite, some corporate decision-makers picture a dish as wide as an above-ground swimming pool that costs about $5,000 just to set up, plus $500 to $1,000 a month to operate. 

But that’s like judging a job candidate based on his 10-year-old paper résumé instead of his up-to-date LinkedIn profile. It’s true that satellite communications were relatively slow and clunky a decade ago, but satellites these days can be as small as a Petri dish and cost as little as $500, with monthly service available for as low as $30. 

Companies with remote operations have relied mostly on cellular connectivity and other terrestrial solutions to transmit remote data to their SCADA networks. But as IIoT continues its push into underserved locations — from remote grazing pastures in Wyoming to rugged open-pit lithium mines in Western Australia — satellite offers distinct advantages. 

Connectivity: A Must-Have for SCADA Users 

For starters, satellite provides reliable and real-time connectivity. Here’s why this is important.

In sparsely populated or harsh environments, cellular service might be limited, spotty, or altogether unavailable. In especially isolated areas, where a cell tower sighting is about as likely as a Yeti sighting (not the outdoor product goods, but the fabled ape-like creature), satellite connectivity may be the only viable solution for monitoring SCADA equipment.

Where cellular coverage is available, sensor data travels wirelessly from tower to tower until it reaches the SCADA master station. Along the way, landscape features like mountains, buildings, and even clumps of trees can interfere with transmission. For this reason, satellite is a great “insurance policy” for remote connectivity that needs continuous uptime.

By contrast, satellite communication does not depend on land-based transmission, so landscape features won’t block the signal. Data travels from sensors to a satellite in space and bounces back to the master station without interference except for extreme weather events that can sometimes cause a signal delay commonly called “rain fade.” 

L-band signals can penetrate through rain, snow, and other inclement weather, so signal reduction is not an issue. L-band communication also offers secure, high-speed transmission, making it ideal for sending large amounts of data from extremely remote locations to the central SCADA station. This allows remote operators to respond to real-time field condition reports, including fault detection in machinery. 

SCADA is Growing Alongside Satellite

As the World Economic Forum predicts active satellites to triple by 2033, modern SCADA systems are also growing steadily, at a CAGR of 7.4% through 2030 — not in spite of IIoT but because of it, according to P&S Intelligence. And, fast, reliable, and secure connectivity via satellite enables companies to analyze and act on SCADA data to make swift decisions as well as provide two-way communication for machine-to-machine communication, real-time alerts and alarms, longer-term forecasts and strategic plans.