Why African Telcos Need Satellite Communications Carriers

?

There are a lot of wireles Internet, data and voice ?communications operators in Africa that continue to rely on satellite communications to cover underserved markets. For instance, Airtel is currently one of the largest satellite communications user in the region. ?N. Arjun, chief projects and transformation officer at ?Airtel, said the company has to use commercial satellites to serve areas that cannot use ?submarine optic networks.?

?

But Arjun warns that current satellite capacity usage of the company could drop ?in the future as terrestrial networks grow, especially ?fiber optics.?Airtel would need to replace some or most of its satellite communications capacity with terrestrial bandwidth as LTE rolls out in more regions. ?This type of network standard requires relatively high bandwidth. Airtel will still strive to balance affordability and quality of service as it shifts from satellite to terrrestrial capacity, said Arjun.?

?

However , Arjun still believes that satellite could still remain an important part of mobile backhaul and wireless communications services in Africa, ?although over time, microwave and fiber capacity would take over areas traditionally served by satellite ?providers. Some of the common challenges facing satellite broadband users are latency and cost.

What is certain is that Airtel will use satellite ?networks in the medium term. Regional trends suggest that Africa will see 60% rise in the demand for satellites.?

?

Satellite communications solutions are in-demand in countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nigeria, although faced with economic challenges, is a huge economy. Kenya and Nigeria, with their very promising wireless ?telecommunications industry, will experience an increasing demand for satellites.?

There are exciting growth opportunities for the satellite carriers serving the region. Airtel, which is present in most African countries, and Vodacom , which operates in South Africa (SA), DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and ?Tanzania, will see their markets gradually moving up to 3G and then 4G. This market trend will surely pave the way for steep ?growth in the demand for satellite communications services.?

?

The demand for commercial satellites remains robust for among telcos and ISPS. These industries are still investing on satellite-based communications technologies, VSAT and teleport services. ?Take the case of Airtel which recently installed ?a large Gilat SkyEdge system in the DRC area. The satellite communications technology has helped Airtel customers attain ?30 percent efficiency savings. Airtel is eager to adopt similar satellite technologies to boost operational efficiency while ?creating reliable access to terrestrial ?networks as well.?

?

Market statistics also reveal interesting propsects for the satellite and mobile backhaul service providers. Uptake of mobile streaming is poor, and data streaming ?exceeded fixed data services in terms of both subscriber size and earnings.?

?

lakers trade ann arbor news nick young elizabeth smart south dakota state long beach state beasley