The Middle East and Africa continues to offer one of the largest addressable markets for satellite broadband. With just 15 percent of African households having internet access, challenging geographies, underdeveloped infrastructure and an urgency to not be left behind in a digital world, where are the opportunities for satcom?
Is Trunking Really Dead?
Demand for satellite trunking links plummeted rapidly in the last few years. International backbone fiber now populates virtually all major African coastal cities, and inland deployments have evolved quickly as well. However, Africa continues to be the largest market for this type of demand and some opportunities still exist.
Explore the Middle East & Africa 2016 Issue
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Landlocked territories are at a clear distance in terms of capacity availability and pricing. Here is where satellite is still highly relevant. The average price for end-user connectivity in landlocked countries is $439 per Mbps, a benchmark current and future generation satellites can meet and outperform. Flexibility, reliability and ubiquitous connectivity are still the key selling propositions for satellite trunking links.
Cellular
Mobile phones are the first and only way to access the internet for many in Africa. Globally, satellite plays a minor role backhauling less than 1.2 percent of global mobile base stations, but its contribution to the Sub-Saharan market surpasses 7 percent. The drive to continually expand network coverage together with the new economics of HTS ensure a brilliant future for satellite backhaul in the region.
VSAT and Corporate Networks
The Middle East and Africa region presents one of the most solid demand prospects of any region for VSAT and corporate networks. Despite obvious short term challenges due to low commodity prices, energy and mining continue to be a major driver in the region.
Bottom Line
Africa presents tremendous growth opportunities for the satellite industry. The need to get connected is clear and urgent. Through the drive to extend cellular networks, growth in traditional corporate networks and social inclusion projects or connecting the unconnected, the region is prone to generate unprecedented growth. However, actors must be keenly aware the “build it and they will come” approach leads to underwhelming results, as the region needs customized business models and the development of entire ecosystems to thrive. VS
