One of the first things Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that shook the United States (US) in 2005 did was knock out communications systems as it swept inland through Louisiana and Mississippi.
The US Army National Guard was called out during the hurricanes. One National Guard commander made an interesting observation about Hurricane Katrina. He said it was an excellent exercise for the Guard because dealing with it was much like dealing with a classic military attack.
Reports say the hurricane cut a 100-mile wide swath through homes, trees, electrical transmission lines and telephone substations, knocking out cellular towers as it moved north out of the Gulf.
People were without communications for days. There was no land line telephone service or cellphone service in much of the southern regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Businesses could not communicate with employees, vendors or customers. Family members could not communicate with one another.
Then Chairman, of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Kevin Martin told members of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation: “If we learned anything from Hurricane Katrina, it is that we cannot rely solely on terrestrial communications. When radio towers are knocked down, satellite communications are, in some instances, the most effective means of communicating.”
Martin made this statement while testifying about communications failures and effectiveness following the hurricanes. The storm did tremendous damage to earth-based communications infrastructure along the Gulf Coast. Nearly three million telephone customers were left without land line service. Thirty-eight emergency 9-1-1 call centres were disabled and millions of calls failed in the days immediately following the storm and hundreds of thousands of customers were without cable television.
Martin testified: “Through all of this,” he said, “satellite telephones continued to provide effective service.”
Senator John McCain (Arizona) asked him: “So we should consider satellite communications as a part of our overall solution in response to disasters?” “That’s correct,” he said.
Since the middle of the 20th century, satellites have evolved from being technical marvels to essential components of industrialised societies. Satellites are used for a diverse range of applications including telecommunications, navigation, weather prediction, military intelligence, space exploration and scientific studies.
Of the operational satellites in space today, more than half are dedicated to communications uses. These satellites complement terrestrial communications network, enabling people across the globe to communicate. Due to their unique advantage of large coverage range, and independence from most terrestrial networks failures, satellites are strategic assets for ensuring continuous information flow among people, businesses and governments when terrestrial network connections are disrupted.
What does the country stand to gain?
To address deficiency of national backbone infrastructure for communications and the Federal Government’s drive for nationwide broadband penetration, NIGCOMSAT Limited, in partnership with China Great Wall Industry Corporation, in 2009 signed a contract in Beijing for the in-orbit delivery of the NigComSat-1R satellite; to replace the NigComSat-1 which was launched in 2007, but failed in orbit the following year.
Last month, the satellite went to its orbital home following its launch earlier in the month. According to NIGCOMSAT Limited, the replacement satellite has a modification on the payload which will provide the most optimal and cost effective voice, data, video, Internet and application services and solutions.
The target applications of NigComSat-1R include but are not limited to: telecommunications, broadcasting, Internet, real-time monitoring services, navigation and global positioning systems.
Stakeholders have stressed the importance of communications satellite in boosting broadband penetration and addressing the nation’s homeland security challenges, as well as the business opportunities it will offer.
Managing Director of NigComSat Ltd, Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai said communications satellites are vital as national broadband backbone infrastructure for communication; adding that they will play an important role in the drive for broadband penetration nationwide.
He described the NigComSat-1R as, “A critical ICT backbone infrastructure to drive the national ICT revolution in providing cost effective solutions and affordable access to meet the nation’s telecommunications, broadcast, aviation, maritime, defence and security needs and provide revenue diversification for the nation.”
He noted that though Nigeria’s teledensity stands at over 60 per cent, bringing basic communications services to over 90 per cent of the people, broadband access is still a challenge.
According to him, the satellite would address this challenge. “Connectivity is largely lacking and over 50 per cent of broadband Internet connections in Nigeria today are via satellite. Therefore, the NigComSat-1R satellite communications technology is critical to expanding access and improving connectivity.”
He observed that deploying wire-line infrastructure for last mile access and broadband connectivity, especially for remote and un-served communities in Nigeria would be nearly impossible because of costs. He said this can be tackled through deployment of wireless technologies such as broadband satellite and new generation mobile systems.
He said: “There is little future in last mile wire-line infrastructure as deployments based on wire-line infrastructure for rural and dispersed communities will be very difficult to achieve and investments will be exceedingly costly and largely unaffordable. Nigeria can improve its connectivity access by taking advantage of major advancements in the wireless technologies such as broadband satellite from NigComSat-1R and new generation mobile systems for last mile deployments.”
Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson said the satellite, aside from increasing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) penetration in Nigeria, will position the country for effective global competitiveness. She noted that the gains in the telecommunications sector must be replicated in the IT sector for the industry to achieve success.
According to her, this can only be achieved through broadband connectivity via satellite communications deployment. “With the NigComSat-1R, cost of bandwidth will definitely be reduced. The country still pays more for broadband services even with the availability of the submarine cables. With the coming of the communications satellite, last mile connectivity will be achieved and cost of bandwidth will crash.
“This will make broadband connectivity affordable and accessible. The belief is that, with satellite communications, the country would be able to augment things and improve communications services,” she said.
Speaking on the promises the satellite holds for broadcasting services at a forum recently, Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr Yomi Bolarinwa said NigComSat-1R will boost broadcasting in Nigeria. He emphasised that the future of communications is multimedia with portability and mobility.
An engineer at the sameforum, Inuwa Danladi-Alhaji, said NigComSat-1R’s contributions to national development are enormous. According to him, the satellite will, among other benefits, provide effective security to Nigeria and other African countries it covers; enable better flow of information from satellite to multi-channels; improve interconnectivity and communications among the nation’s security agencies (Army, Navy, Air force and the Police) and assist in disaster management.
NIGCOMSAT boss Ahmed-Rufai said considering that delivering basic health care and education to remote and sparsely populated regions was almost an insoluble challenge, the launch of the NigComSat-1R will provide the much-needed bandwidth to take these services across the country.
According to him, Nigeria spends N75billion yearly to get bandwidth to provide services in these areas, adding that the satellite will provide a domestic alternative, conserve foreign exchange and enhance the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“NigComSat-1R will facilitate our proposed secondary school NET project. This project is intended to connect select secondary schools in each state of the federation to a central point. It will also enhance virtual campuses in remote locations, which shall be connected to other locations.”
Ahmed-Rufai listed the benefits of the satellite to government agencies and other business enterprises to include reduction in the cost of bandwidth acquisition, boosting government’s e-governance initiative and development of indigenous software applications to aid Nigeria’s quest for a knowledge economy.
Other benefits, according to him include boosting the nation’s telecommunications services delivery; facilitating the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) pursuit of cash-less economy, among others. In addition, the NIGCOMSAT boss explained that the satellite will leapfrog the country’s knowledge economy drive.
“We are trying to build talented Nigerians that can create products that will be competitive in the global market. By doing so, we will be developing a pool of highly-skilled workers. If you want to create a knowledge economy, you have to create humans with knowledge.”
To the former President of the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Dr Jimson Olufuye, Nigeria can escape the digital gulf with satellite technology solutions as “broadband access can easily be achieved over communications satellite infrastructure.”
According to him, connecting more people to broadband and increasing Nigeria’s economic and technological competitiveness would only be realistic if the country deploys satellite solutions.
He, however, challenged stakeholders on appropriate use of the communications infrastructure for business continuity, emphasising on the need for backup satellites.
“The issue is beyond just having a communications satellite. What we use it to do matters a great deal and how we sustain it and keep it working for the duration of its life cycle are very important.
“Let us not forget that leading nations are spending big on their satellite projects and they do it for results. We too as we spend big must have our sight on the results which should be nothing more than boosting the socioeconomic and security well-being of our people.
“While there is great enthusiasm, the challenge of appropriate use for business continuity is critical. Therefore, plans should begin as soon as possible for NIGCOMSAT-2,” he stated.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Adline Atili
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 04.01.2012
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
