Trend · rank 167 of 250

Satellite connectivity expansion

Large low-orbit constellations are extending communications coverage beyond terrestrial networks, widening national connectivity options while creating dependence on a few external operators and on contested orbital infrastructure.

Strategic InfrastructureEnergy, networks & climate resiliencespace geoconnectivitynetworks

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass, where it was Satellite mega-constellations. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
167of 250
Sensitivity
10.0rank 107
Breadth
1of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
26.8rank 169
Eigenvector
1.5
Betweenness
3.3
Links
10trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
16.5

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
96
Over a year
+3%Steady
Over three years
−13%
Peak
2189 Mar 2025
Sources
Bothagreement 0.23
Coverage
16languages · 72 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (16 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English54%101+9%
German7%122+60%
Russian7%113+18%
Spanish5%103+5%
French5%91−3%
Japanese4%92+21%
Chinese4%93+4%
Polish3%101−6%
Italian3%134+69%
Portuguese2%91+11%
Persian2%119+135%
Arabic2%85+1%
Dutch1%110+29%
Ukrainian1%124−52%
Turkish1%70−53%
Korean0%136−3%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

Zimbabwe

Madagascar

Jamaica

Australia

Cameroon

Mozambique

Zambia

Kenya

New Zealand

Ghana

Qatar

Argentina

100

53

33

19

19

19

19

17

17

16

15

14

The 12 highest of 72 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English117+20%+14%+26%
EuropeGoogle in 9 countries + Wikipedia in German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch124+37%+14%+43%
ChinaGoogle in 1 country118−5%+19%+54%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 11 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese, Korean112−7%+18%+34%
South AsiaGoogle in 4 countries72−7%−41%+15%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 6 countries + Wikipedia in Persian, Arabic, Turkish96+15%+2%−15%
AfricaGoogle in 5 countries97+23%+9%+15%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 6 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish, Portuguese115+24%+11%+33%
Russia and EurasiaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in Russian, Ukrainian174+84%+28%+73%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
ArgentinaGoogle95+17%−28%+42%
AustraliaGoogle118+44%+4%+48%
BrazilGoogle + Wikipedia in Portuguese110+27%+13%+37%
CanadaGoogle136+66%−13%+44%
ChinaGoogle118−5%+19%+54%
FranceGoogle + Wikipedia in French114+25%−1%+16%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German122+24%+21%+60%
IndiaGoogle78−12%−30%+4%
IndonesiaGoogle87+22%−21%+453%
ItalyGoogle + Wikipedia in Italian147+70%+47%+50%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese124−10%+17%+22%
South KoreaGoogle + Wikipedia in Korean120−12%+5%+38%
MexicoGoogle142+77%+17%+25%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian113+10%+18%+3%
Saudi ArabiaGoogle79+7%−13%−20%
South AfricaGoogle96+16%+38%−16%
TürkiyeGoogle + Wikipedia in Turkish76−6%−47%−32%
United KingdomGoogle102+1%−23%−2%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English117+21%+22%+23%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
4 · HighA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
3 · ModerateHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
3 · ModerateA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
2 · LowA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
4 · HighTelecom network resilienceEnergy, networks & climate resilience35
4 · HighSatellite positioning & timing dependenceEnergy, networks & climate resilience190
3 · ModerateInfrastructure ageing & maintenance backlogEnergy, networks & climate resilience39
3 · ModerateDistributed powerEnergy, networks & climate resilience81
3 · ModerateSubsea cable & pipeline dependenceEnergy, networks & climate resilience114
3 · ModerateGrid expansion & demand flexibilityEnergy, networks & climate resilience131
3 · ModerateConnected infrastructure operationEnergy, networks & climate resilience145
3 · ModerateNext-generation mobile networksEnergy, networks & climate resilience147
3 · ModerateUrban cooling infrastructureEnergy, networks & climate resilience151
3 · ModerateRail & mass transit expansionEnergy, networks & climate resilience224