Getting all of Africa satellite-connected

Goal is for every rural village to be part of linked-up hotspot network

SATELLITE communication is a solution to ensuring connection to remote and rural locations in South Africa and the rest of Africa. This was among the ideas that came up at this year’s AfricaCom conference which ended at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday.

Konnect Africa, the Eutelsat-owned satellite broadband service provider, announced the launch of SmartWIFI, a new hotspot service, as part of its commitment to bring digital opportunities to Africa.

The new service leverages Konnect Africa’s powerful, reliable satellite broadband network to enable sales outlets as well as health-care centres or schools, where users can access the SmartWIFI service through vouchers or mobile payment schemes.

The service also comes with a unique local data storage system, enabling users in remote areas to access smart digital content free of data charges, including online courses and education programmes, sports and entertainment, while mobile and computer applications will also be available to help support daily business activities.

Laurent Grimaldi, chief executive of Konnect Africa, said the new wi-fi hotspot solution was designed specifically to address the needs of the majority of the African population who live in rural areas, where there is a need to reduce the digital divide.

“In leveraging the ubiquity of our satellite network and locally operated hotspots we will foster more productive uses of digital technology to make everyday tasks easier for individuals and allow businesses in more remote areas to expand their footprint. Let’s think of weather apps to assist farmers, mobile phones to display bus timetables, or better information on market days that can help small producers enlarge their catchment area.”

The new hotspot service will be available in all countries covered by Konnect Africa’s satellite broadcast service and will be deployed in partnership with local internet service providers and telecom operators in strategic areas across sub-Saharan Africa.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, said that in line with reaching the government’s development goals, the core of South Africa’s vision for Africa was a connected continent where every village, every woman, every man and every child had access to education, entertainment and knowledge through broadband connectivity.

“We note that while a single terrestrial base station can cover a village, a single satellite has the ability to cover not only one country but a few countries.”

A small constellation of satellites could cover virtually all of the Earth’s surface.