Kathy Gibson at SatCom, Sandton – It is a well-known fact the ICT is a major contributor to the development and prosperity of a nation.
And, while Internet connectivity has the ability to increase a country’s GPD (gross domestic product), better connectivity can increase it even more – in fact a 10% penetration of broadband has been shown to increase a country’s GDP by 1,32%.
“Broadband connectivity accelerates knowledge, social growth and economic growth,” says Denis Burgevin, vice-president: business development at Thales Alenia Space.
In line with this, more than 130 governments around the world have adopted, or are planning to adopt, a national broadband plan.
This is because broadband connectivity can be a boost to a country’s policies, Burgevin says.
It allows governments to provide services like e-health and e-education while helping countries to manage e-risk.
It allows businesses to access VPNs, to manage their business processes and to conduct e-commerce.
Broadband services include more than e-services, but also Internet access, voice over IP, IPTV and streaming. Operators can use the connectivity for digital TV and radio broadcast, IP trunking and cellular backhaul.
In fact, Burgevin goes as far as to say that he believes broadband connectivity could be an integral part of people’s basic human rights.
But how can a country deploy a nationwide broadband system?
The traditional way to address the issues, Burgevin says, is with a terrestrial network.
“But with terrestrial networks, covering 100% of a country remains very expensive and can take a long time. It is easy to use terrestrial networks to connect cities or users close to an undersea cable.”
A mixed environment of terrestrial and satellite connectivity, on the other hand, offers immediate 100% coverage of the whole territory.
“Satellite can be used to complement the terrestrial network,” Burgevin says. “As soon as it is in orbit, the satellite covers the whole country.”
The figures are compelling, he adds, when comparing the deployment of satellite communication to terrestrial networks. “When you want to connect more than 50% of the population, satellite is the quickest and most cost-effective way to build a nationwide broadband infrastructure.”
The benefits are many. Satellite connectivity reduces public investment, offers coverage across demographic segments, has simple integration with existing infrastructure, legacy networks or new terrestrial networks. It is fast and easy to deploy, with a small satellite able to be in orbit and operating with two years.
In addition, says Burgevin, satellite is resilient to natural disasters and offers high availability.
