 | Issue: | AME 2012 |
| Article no.: | 5 | |
| Topic: | How satellite can deliver broadband connectivity in Africa | |
| Author: | Majdi Atout | |
| Title: | Regional Vice President for Middle East and Africa | |
| Organisation: | iDirect. | |
| PDF size: | 171KB |
About author
As Regional Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Majdi Atout, brings over 18 years of sales management experience in satellite communications and high tech to iDirect.
Prior to joining iDirect, Mr Atout served as VP – Satcom Business Unit Manager with Atlas Telecom (UAE Based), a System Integrator for Turnkey Telecom Solutions and Service Provider Company within GCC. He was able to grow the Satellite communication Division revenue from Dhs 2M to Dhs 45M as well as establish within Atlas their service provider, Sky Stream based on iDirect platform to serve the MENA region. He was also the Telecom Manager with IET (UAE Based), a System Integrator for Networking and Telecommunication solutions where he helped grow the Telecom Division revenue from Dhs 1M to Dhs 10M within three years.
Majdi Atout holds a B.S.C. degree in Electrical Engineering Communication, University of Jordan 1993 and MBA from American University, Sharjah, UAE 2007.
Article abstract
Significant technological advances to both satellite hardware and bandwidth management software have made satellite a viable solution in Africa. From Saharan deserts to mountains or jungles, the portability and easy implementation of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) systems can bring affordable satellite connectivity to virtually any region of Africa. Personal mobile ownership is growing fast in Africa, and is now focused on data services rather than Voice. VSAT together with HTS (High Throughput Satellites) that are now becoming available, deliver high bandwidth at a reasonable cost. This will introduce further communities to mobile internet information. It will enable enterprises to expand their business into remote areas, despite geographical or topographical constraints. It will bring Distant Learning closer, no matter where the classroom is located, and with knowledge comes better commerce, better health and better quality of life.
Full Article
In the last several years, there has been a dramatic increase in broadband adoption across the African continent. Extensive fibre networks have made Internet access common in most major African cities, which has in turn opened up the possibility of expanding broadband to remote and rural areas of the continent via satellite technology.
On its own, existing terrestrial communications infrastructure is insufficient to reach many areas of Africa. In large part, this is because it is too expensive to build out terrestrial networks beyond urban areas. With satellite, however, it is possible to reach remote areas and provide the benefits of communications technology, including telephony, Internet access, and more to communities that are desperate for connectivity.
This article will discuss how recent advances in satellite technology are fulfilling the promise of constant connectivity to rural Africa and the various applications that satellite technology supports, including cellular backhaul, enterprise connectivity, and distance education.
Moving beyond traditional boundaries
There are many advantages to satellite that make it a strong communications solution for the African market. One key advantage is that satellite technology can extend broadband to remote areas where terrestrial connectivity is too expensive to implement and maintain. This is particularly important for businesses and organisations with headquarters in major cities. Because satellite can be integrated easily into existing networks, such as microwave or fibre networks, organisations can turn to satellite as a reliable means of extending their networks and expanding their services as they seek to grow in remote areas.
Another key advantage of satellite is that bandwidth is becoming more affordable and more efficient to manage. Traditionally, satellite was viewed as a niche communications solution that was considered cost-prohibitive for applications that required high bandwidth. However, significant technological advances to both satellite hardware and bandwidth management software have made satellite a viable solution for virtually every communications need.
While the cost of bandwidth once was a deterrent to implementing satellite, the efficiencies of modern VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) systems make satellite a cost-effective networking solution for core applications such as voice, video, and Internet connectivity, as well as data-heavy applications such as video-conferencing, HD video, and more.
Along with the advances in satellite technology, there is a broader shift beginning to happen in the satellite industry that will make satellite bandwidth more abundant and accessible and that is the growing use of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and the higher bandwidth Ka-band frequencies.
An increasing number of HTS satellites will launch in the coming years, which will deliver Ka-band satellite capacity to Africa and other regions throughout the world. Traditionally, the VSAT market has relied on C-band and Ku-band capacity. With Ka-band becoming a more important source of bandwidth for VSAT solutions, satellite will become an even more attractive option for companies that wish to extend connectivity to remote areas.
Extending 3G and 4G cellular service
One of the key areas where satellite technology is making an impact in Africa is in helping mobile operators extend their networks to support rural subscribers. In rural Africa, as in other parts of the developing world, mobile technology is the primary means by which individuals access the Internet. In fact, a 2010 report by Cisco projected that mobile data traffic would increase 26-fold worldwide from 2010 to 2015, growing from 14 million to 788 million users.
Because mobile technology represents the most affordable way, and sometimes the only way, for rural subscribers to access high-speed Internet connectivity, extending cellular networks to remote locations is an obvious area of growth for mobile operators. However, tapping into this emerging market has been difficult because of the complexity of 3G and 4G capable devices.
Whereas previous mobile technology was focused only on voice, modern mobile devices use up much more data for applications like photo and video sharing and general Internet access. In order to backhaul all of this data cost-effectively, mobile operators need a solution that offers bandwidth efficiency.
VSAT networks are the best solution for bringing cellular service to remote and rural areas because they offer ubiquitous and highly reliable coverage, easy and quick installation, and bandwidth allocation technology that ensures mobile operators are not wasting bandwidth.
In implementing satellite solutions, mobile operators are able to grow their networks and bring reliable mobile connectivity to rural customers. As a result, mobile subscribers in remote areas are better able to stay connected with friends and relatives in urban areas and are able to access information on demand via the Internet, thus improving their quality of life.
Supporting enterprise growth in Africa
In Africa, enterprise demand for remote connectivity is rising, especially among financial institutions and small to medium enterprises. The reason for this rising demand is that enterprises require constant connectivity between all of their sites to plan for strategic and profitable growth.
Enterprises based in urban centres need to connect remote branches of their business to their headquarters location to share information and collaborate efficiently. Often, this collaboration occurs over voice and data applications, which require reliable bandwidth connectivity. In remote destinations, achieving this reliability can be difficult, particularly with terrestrial technology, which often cannot reach certain remote destinations.
That’s where the value of satellite comes in. Advances in satellite technology have made IP-over-satellite a cost-effective solution for companies that need to expand connectivity to all of their locations no matter the geographical or topographical constraints. From remote deserts to mountains or jungles, the portability and easy implementation of VSAT systems can bring satellite connectivity to virtually any region of Africa.
The most important practical implication of using satellite solutions to support enterprise growth is that businesses are able to expand their operations to serve new customers in these remote areas. This offers a three-fold economic benefit:
– first, individuals living in remote communities are able to access new goods and services which can help improve their quality of life;
– second, the business itself is able to grow and gain more revenue, which improves the economy on a macro level;
– and third, as the enterprise expands to remote areas, it is able to employ more workers, which improves the economy on a micro level.
Making distance education a reality
Education is a key ingredient in addressing economic and social challenges in Africa, and is one of the areas where satellite is making a measurable impact. With the Internet becoming more and more ubiquitous, thanks in part to satellite connectivity, individuals living in rural communities are gaining more exposure to new ideas and information than ever before.
Seizing on the phenomenal growth of Internet technology, non-profit organisations and educational institutions have sought to formalise distance education programs using the Web as a means to connect with students in rural and remote areas. However, distance education presents many unique connectivity challenges. Because distance education often includes videoconferencing and other high-bandwidth data sharing, it can be difficult for educational institutions and non-profit groups to deliver reliable instruction to extremely remote communities.
The ubiquity of satellite technology helps solve this problem. Modern VSAT solutions allow institutions to implement distance education and training programs no matter where the classroom is located. Furthermore, because of the efficiencies of satellite, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, and Web-based collaboration, are all possible without concerns over availability and reliability.
There are many obvious benefits to extending education to remote and rural African communities. A better-educated workforce is more likely to find success in an increasingly globalised economy. Access to health information can decrease the spread of disease and encourage healthier living conditions. Educated citizens are more empowered to make decisions that will improve their community and standard of living. Satellite is a key technology that is bringing these benefits to bear.
Satellite: A powerful communications solution for a dynamic market
Every day, communications service providers in Africa are re-examining their service offerings and determining the best way to bring broadband connectivity to the masses, and satellite is becoming an increasingly important part of the discussion. With terrestrial technologies expanding throughout the continent, there is an opportunity for organisations to build hybrid networks that integrate fibre and wireless connectivity with VSAT. This will bring connectivity to areas where terrestrial services currently don’t exist.
As the African market matures and broadband becomes standardised across the continent, satellite technologies will continue to play an important role in delivering the promise of broadband connectivity. Whether satellite is helping mobile operators bring broadband connectivity to individuals in remote areas, enterprise organisations grow their business to reach new customers, or educators deliver innovative teaching programs to rural communities, modern VSAT networks are an affordable, efficient, and reliable technology that is delivering significant value in an evolving market.
