Africa, Middle East Will Have New Satellites
A new global satellite system due for launch late this year may help further democratize cheap internet access in Nigeria and indeed, the entire developing world. The system will be deployed by the Jersey-based O3b Networks, whose name stands for the ‘other three billion’ people in developing countries.
who don’t have access to the Internet. Google Inc., Liberty Global and HSBC are delivering financial lifeline for the project because of their interest in making forays into the hugely untapped emerging markets.
According to the firm, the satellite-based infrastructure will bring Internet access to countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Traditional communication satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 22,000 miles, which can limit signal strength and bandwidth. But O3b will use cheaper medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites with an altitude of around 6,000 miles, which will deliver a stronger signal.
O3b has already begun production of the 16 satellites. Once operational, it will deliver speeds of up to ten gigabits per second, comparable to Internet access speeds available in the developed world. As demand increases, more satellites will be launched, according to Greg Wyler, chief executive officer of O3b Networks.
High-speed Internet access will bring a series of advantages to developing countries, including locally generated content, widespread e-learning, telemedicine and other enablers of social and economic growth, he adds.
Wyler says the satellite-based network will have significant advantages over broadband systems that use expensive materials such as fibre optic cables, and could potentially reduce the cost of Internet access in developing countries ten-fold.
O3b say underwater fibre networks that currently form the ‘backbone’ of developing world communications are extremely limited in providing Internet access.
But one of the hurdles to cheap high-speed access is gaining government licensing and working with telecom monopolies. Alan Jackson, chief technical officer at Aptivate, a nongovernmental organisation that provides information technology services for international development, said that access is not about finding a “techno-fix”.
Jackson warns that satellite-based high speed Internet — compared to cable broadband — might not necessarily result in cheap, affordable connectivity for people in developing countries.