[Satellite News 02-02-10] Intersat Africa is confident that the time is right for satellite broadband to make a strong impact across many markets in Africa and has teamed up with Astra Broadband Services to launch Get2Net broadband services to customers in East and Central Africa, CEO Abdul Bakhrani told Satellite News. Get2Net, supported by the Astra2Connect broadband platform, will be launched in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi ,and Intersat and Astra have agreed to expand their cooperation to include West African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Guinea in the future.
Bakhrani spoke with Satellite News about the service and the market dynamics he believes will drive Get2Net’s success.
Satellite News: Which markets do you believe will be the most successful for you?
Bakhrani: Intersat Africa feels that the Get2Net service will be profitable in around 15 to 18 months months with a modest target of around 15,000 subscribers by the end of the year; 10,000 in West Africa and 5,000 in East Africa. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Sudan and Somalia have the most deserving markets for Get2Net. Nigeria is also an underserved market with a potential of over 100,000 subscribers over the next few years.
Satellite News: Which sectors of these markets will you be targeting?
Bakhrani: Intersat has developed the Rural Internet Kiosk which is a 100 percent solar-powered device which connects to the Internet using Get2Net. These kiosks have become extremely popular with government agencies and NGOs, as they allow immediate deployment and deliver reliable broadband access in rural villages all across Africa and the rest of the world.
Satellite News: What about the consumer markets?
Bakhrani: We are repositioning ourselves to go after the consumer market, which is a significant change for us, brought about with more fiber coming in across Africa. We knew that the introduction of fiber would take away a portion of our trunking business. Thus, Intersat Africa has been going through a period of diversification. Our goal is to be the premier satellite broadband provider and accordingly we have restructured our company.
We also want to become part of the satellite-TV market across Africa in order to offer a triple-play solution. We are working with content providers to put up DTH platforms to complement our Get2Net satellite broadband and voice service. We will provide the latest MPEG-4/DVB-S2 technology in partnership with teleport operators like Arqiva by offering a turnkey solution for entrepreneurs and established content providers to cost-effectively launch satellite TV and radio within our multichannel platform. This service should be available on NSS-12 Ku-band East Africa beam in four to six weeks and will enable us to offer a true triple-play satellite service, the first of its kind in Africa.
We also want to become part of the satellite-TV market across Africa in order to offer a triple-play solution. We are working with content providers to put up DTH platforms to complement our Get2Net satellite broadband and voice service. We will provide the latest MPEG-4/DVB-S2 technology in partnership with teleport operators like Arqiva by offering a turnkey solution for entrepreneurs and established content providers to cost-effectively launch satellite TV and radio within our multichannel platform. This service should be available on NSS-12 Ku-band East Africa beam in four to six weeks and will enable us to offer a true triple-play satellite service, the first of its kind in Africa.
Satellite News: Does the competition from land-based and submarine fiber networks affect your plans?
Bakhrani: For the past 12 months, there has been so much hype in the market about the arrival of submarine fiber to the East Coast of Africa, which would miraculously connect each and every African to’cheap Internet. In reality, this has been very challenging for stakeholders in the terrestrial delivery methods because the last mile has always been difficult to implement due to poor infrastructure outside the major urban areas. The frequent press articles and the media interest in the arrival of the submarine fiber has branded Internet as “the fourth utility,” which every consumer would like to have access to together with power, water and telephone. Unfortunately, however, the only way many can experience broadband will be though our Get2Net satellite Internet powered by Astra2Connect.
Satellite News: What are some other challenges for Intersat in the region?
Bakhrani: The major challenge is that consumer satellite broadband has never been offered before in Africa and Get2Net is the first. Therefore, the consumer has to be sensitized on the benefits of get2net since satellite Internet or VSAT has always been perceived as very costly. We are fortunate to have a partner in Astra Broadband Services who already have an enormous amount of experience of running this service in 16 countries across Europe with 60,000 subscribers. Get2Net is the Africanized’ version of the Astra2Connect product.
Our business philosophy has always been to partner with high-value satellite operators and service providers. Intersat Africa has been one of SES World Skies’ top customers in Africa for over seven years, and this partnership has been instrumental to our rapid growth. In Africa, when you launch an innovative product, you have to get it right at the first go in order to be successful. There is never a second chance.
Our business philosophy has always been to partner with high-value satellite operators and service providers. Intersat Africa has been one of SES World Skies’ top customers in Africa for over seven years, and this partnership has been instrumental to our rapid growth. In Africa, when you launch an innovative product, you have to get it right at the first go in order to be successful. There is never a second chance.
