In the past five years mobile internet subscribers have tripled to 300 million, according to statistics reflected in the mobile economy report there will be an additional 250 million by 2020. This has fueled the wireless technology explosion and the ongoing migration to digital has vastly expanded communications and information. Consumers across Africa now have 494 million smartphone connections, set to increase to 720 million by 2020.
The continent is not at a level where VOD content can be enjoyed by a mass audience. For this reason Eutelsat Communications has developed its SmartBeam technology to deliver video content to mobile devices via satellite, addressing challenges that include user frustration with buffering and disconnection as terrestrial mobile networks become saturated.
The technology will enable consumers to receive video services in public venues by downloading an app on their mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets using Android or iOS. Users will pick up the channels via a local Wi-Fi network connected to a compact box that receives the content direct from a satellite.
Eutelsat provides capacity on 38 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations , pay-TV operators, video, data and internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide global coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.
Attending Africom 2016 in Cape Town, Jacques Dutronc, chief development and innovation officer at Eutelsat explains the technology and how satellite can feed a growing appetite for video on demand in Africa.
“SmartBEAM is a new IP-based video solution. It offers content providers a satellite-based solution for multiscreen video delivery to connected devices, including tablets and smartphones. It works with any WiFi-enabled device, supporting instant channel change, DRM security, and low latency.”
Dutronc explains that SmartBEAM emerged from viewer expectation to have access to content on mobile devices when outside of the home. “In addition to enabling broadcasters to extend their relationship to their audience, SmartBeam is also an efficient last-mile delivery system for OTT services,” he adds.
The technology has been positively received as it is in effect a game changer for extending access to video content on mobile devices beyond terrestrial networks. “It has a competitive edge for mass market delivery of OTT services. Tricolor TV, one of our key customers in Russia, is already deploying the service and we are analysing other markets, including emerging markets as a route to offering simple access to video content on mobile devices,” he says.
“SmartBeam is designed to enable broadcasters and pay-TV operators to leverage the ubiquitous coverage of satellites to broadcast video content in IP format, creating a network that is completely dedicated to IP-native terminals,” Dutronc explains. He says the goal is to be an integral part of the digitisation process sweeping across the African continent. “Through our experience in other regions that have completed analogue switch-off and achieved 100 per cent digital coverage, we know satellites have the core assets of reach and network availability. We can deploy digital infrastructure faster than any other technology and we can provide blanket reach of a region thereby limiting massive public investment in terrestrial towers to cover the last mile.”
He further says that “Scaling up to HD and Ultra HD are other key pillars of our video strategy in all markets for the coming years. In other areas of activity, connectivity requirements continue to grow. We believe there is a key long-term role for satellites in the connectivity business, both fixed and mobile (maritime, in-flight).”
According to the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, “Broadband is not just a consequence of economic growth, it is also a cause.” This was discussed at the unveiling of Konnect Africa at Africom, a new identity for Eutelsat’s satellite broadband venture. “Our Konnect Africa broadband venture will start providing services in Sub-Saharan Africa from spring 2017, marking another milestone for inclusive digital services in Africa,” adds Dutronc.
The Konnect Africa five year development plan is built on two phases. Firstly the start of Konnect Africa operations over key regions as soon as Q2 in 2017, and then a dedicated HTS satellite, to be launched in 2019. After five years Konnect Africa is considering the upcoming VHTS technology to further increase the performance and economics of satellite broadband.
This venture is set up to galvanise the market for satellite broadband services in Sub-Saharan Africa. With a team located in key African markets and in Europe, Konnect Africa aims to become one of the leading suppliers of new-generation services, working closely with African partners to promote high-quality broadband at affordable prices for homes and businesses, and contributing to reducing the digital divide on the continent.
Konnect Africa’s portfolio of services will be adjusted to the profiles and needs of its partners, to match their position in the value chain: data, mobile or VSAT operators, ISPs and pay-TV platforms that can bundle TV with Internet services. Konnect Africa will offer a complete range of services, from bandwidth supply to end-to-end solutions.
There is a clear need for broadband across Sub-Saharan Africa, where 341 million people live beyond a 50km range of fibre. This is greater than the population of the United States and therefore a mix of technologies is therefore required, including fibre, 3G/4G and satellite solutions.
