Around ten countries in West, Central and Southern Africa are currently experiencing disruptions in Internet service due to incidents that occurred on Thursday March 14 on various submarine fiber optic cables. These interruptions affect several million customers, particularly small and medium-sized businesses which have made the Internet a tool for operational efficiency. This situation, the umpteenth of its kind to occur on the continent even if not on the same scale as the previous ones, calls on African states to the need to accelerate the adoption of additional solutions that will support the digital economy. emerging on the continent.

The satellite is one of them. The service which was somewhat eclipsed by mobile at the end of the 90s is once again on the rise across the world. The emergence of mega-constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), an approach intended to bring high-speed connectivity directly to any location on the planet in a context of growing demand, has increased its value.

Beyond services requiring the acquisition of special reception equipment (antenna, modem, etc.), still inaccessible for the majority of Africans who favor mobile, “Direct to Device” (D2D) solutions are also presented by the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) as advantageous in more than one way. They allow consumers to connect directly to satellite.

This is an approach that Starlink has been testing since last January given the relative cost of its fixed services, which is slowing their adoption in several countries where interest is nevertheless high. There is also Lynk Global. Other satellite operators such as AST SpaceMobile prefer to use mobile telephone operators who are players in the field as intermediaries. A collaboration which is also profitable for them according to the Global Association of Telephone Operators (GSMA). MTN Group is already exploring this option through the partnership signed with Omnispace on Tuesday March 12.

Prepare for the future now

But whether it is Vsat or D2D, several challenges still hinder the development of satellite in several markets in Africa. The GSOA wants to see telecoms regulators adopt flexible regulatory regimes, allowing the development of a competitive market. This is done through flexible regulatory frameworks including technological neutrality, a simplified licensing regime with reasonable spectrum fees, mutual recognition of certification and type approval of devices. It is also important to control taxation on equipment to reduce its cost to consumers.

Apart from facilitating the provision of services to private operators, it is also necessary for African States, within the framework of their regional grouping, to consider unifying telecoms infrastructure projects similar to the sub-regional interconnections by optical fiber financed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The East African Community (EAC) has already decided to collectively invest resources in the creation of a common satellite to provide internet services across the region. This decision was taken during the joint ministerial meeting of the ICT Infrastructure Development Cluster under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP), convened in November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ambassador Richard Kabonero, coordinator of Northern Corridor projects, told the media ChimpReports that the launch of such a satellite is estimated at around $300 million. A high cost for a country but one that a community can bear. The equipment would strengthen the connectivity provided by optical fiber, promote the digital inclusion of remote areas where the deployment of the terrestrial network faces several geographical obstacles.

Especially since certain countries such as Mauritania, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and even Guinea Bissau are still only connected to a single underwater fiber optic system. Others like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and the Central African Republic still depend on land connections from neighboring countries because they do not have a maritime opening to accommodate a submarine cable.

By encouraging the development of satellite networks, in addition to terrestrial infrastructure such as submarine fiber optic cables, Africa could afford robust high-speed connectivity capable of overcoming various eventualities. An essential precaution for its success in the digital economy.

Source: Agency EcoFin