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Satellite can expand broadband coverage in Africa – iWayAfrica

05 Mar 2019, 03:09 pm
Financial Nigeria
Satellite can expand broadband coverage in Africa – iWayAfrica

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iWayAfrica said the arrival of high-throughput satellite in Africa can deliver high-speed, affordable connectivity in areas where even mobile and fiber networks do not reach.

A satellite dish

iWayAfrica, a leading African ISP, has said satellite remains a critical factor in unlocking connectivity on the African continent where over 70 percent of the population remains unconnected. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Mauritius headquartered company said the arrival of high-throughput satellite (HTS) in Africa can deliver on today’s customer expectations for high-speed, affordable connectivity in areas where even mobile and fiber networks do not reach.

HTS services are a game-changer in providing connectivity demands worldwide. A HTS has the capacity that is ideal for delivering higher throughput to help service providers meet the high-bandwidth demands. Its concentrated spot beams can transmit up to 20 times greater data throughput as compared to wide-beam satellites.

iWayAfrica, also a wholesale VSAT provider, said it has been working with Avanti Communications Group – a leading provider of satellite data communications services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa – since 2014 on its newly-launched satellite, HYLAS-4 to bring it to Africa. iWayAfrica was recently appointment as an Avanti Master Distributor.

iWayAfrica, which has presence in over 44 African countries, said it has seen at increase in demand for VSAT services driven by the arrival of HTS capacity on the continent. VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) is a satellite communications system. It is a system that is ideal for home and business users. Once considered to be going obsolete following the uptake in fiber networks, the demand for VSAT has increased since the advent of HTS services in Africa.

"Everyone wants to be connected, yet in Africa, huge coverage gaps, poor quality of service connectivity, and high equipment costs remain constraints on the ability to drive market penetration," said Michèle Scanlon, Managing Director – Wholesale VSAT Division at iWayAfrica. "Satellite is often the only means of delivering broadband connectivity, even if used for mobile backhaul to bring 3G services to remote areas, or as a central point for connectivity in a village."

Satellite internet access is provision of internet connectivity through communications satellites. iWayAfrica said the importance of HYLAS 4 to Africa is the near ubiquitous broadband coverage of the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regions that it provides.

Scanlon also said there is positive relationship between increasing broadband penetration and economic activities in a country as research has shown that with every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, there is a 1.38 percent rise in GDP. Similarly, 1 percent rise in broadband connectivity can generate a 5 percent increase in job creation.

One example of the impact of satellite broadband connectivity can have is iWayAfrica’s community project in Uganda. The project utilises the company's Jupiter platform, which has Intelsat’s IS-28 wide-beam capacity.

“The wholly solar powered JOLAspot service provides WiFi connectivity across the village with vouchers sold by women agents, whilst the additional power generated by Winch Energy powers device charging facilities, a printer for photocopying and print services, as well as a fridge selling the only cold drinks in the village. The next phase is to expand the site to offer micro-finance online banking facilities to the community that require both power and connectivity,” said the Managing Director – Wholesale VSAT Division at iWayAfrica.  

She, however, said Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) equipment pricing has remained among the biggest obstacle to growth. This is despite the increase in satellite capacity on the continent. Prices of VSAT modems have remained high.

"Until we see large reductions in pricing or innovative financing approaches for the required end-user satellite modem that typically starts from $170 (with full price kit from $400 inclusive of antenna and radio frequency units) with further $300 consumables and installation fees, the utopian goals of mass-scale satellite broadband penetration in Africa may be limited," said Scanlon.


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