Changing the Economics of Universal Satellite TV and Internet in Africa
- Paper number
IAC-11,B2,3,2,x11315
- Author
Dr. Dave Robson, SSTL, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Dr. Clare Martin, SSTL, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Tony Holt, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mrs. Caroline Slim, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mrs. Yasrine Ibnyahya, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Alex da Silva Curiel, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, United Kingdom
- Year
2011
- Abstract
Having revolutionised the EO market with its coordinated constellations, SSTL considers the question: could the DMC concept be extended to the GEO telecommunications market by facilitating partnerships where the purchase of a single satellite will provide access to all the combined assets? By this means all countries in Africa could reap the social and economic benefits of universal TV and internet services. In modern society TV is recognised as fundamental to social cohesion, providing information, education and shared entertainment. Provision of TV to the whole population with locally produced content and news in all national languages is an essential national goal. Increasingly universal internet access is seen as a second essential for economic growth, social interaction and delivery of government services. Delivery of these goals by terrestrial TV transmission and by fixed lines is unaffordable for many wealthy nations. For developing economies only infrastructure for the largest cities and towns may be affordable. Satellite delivery of TV is a profitable and rapidly expanding business but benefits primarily the wealthy in a developing economy despite its national coverage. Mostly transponders are leased at high cost. Efficient high throughput satellites (HTS) now offer tenfold lower cost transponders than standard TV satellites but cost over $300M each in orbit and must be spared for reliability. In this paper it is shown how to provide TV and internet on the same HTS by optimising user cache and non-linear delivery of pre-recorded content. Once free of the standard linear TV model, satellite capacity can be shared over time between regions or nations following a pre-arranged schedule. A novel system is detailed covering both space and ground segments. A single modified HTS satellite allows universal service over a whole continent. The system may be built step by step with the addition of further identical satellites in two or more orbital slots to provide ever greater capacity, availability and flexibility. Ownership can be much cheaper than leasing over satellite lifetime but the current cost is unaffordable to many nations. To facilitate new entrants SSTL has halved the entry cost for a fully performant HTS using an innovative payload with standard equipments on its GMP-T GEO platform. In this paper the continued development of the GMP-T platform to offer improved capability at low cost will be outlined. To further reduce initial costs SSTL will introduce cost sharing partners with a compatible technology demonstration payload on each satellite.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-11,B2,3,2,x11315.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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