Satellite played an instrumental role in the exponential growth of mobile use in Africa, but broadcast will eventually generate more revenue than cell phones, a satellite industry leader predicts.

Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou is senior vice president of Commercial SES Africa. SES is the world’s second-largest telecommunications satellite operator by revenue and operates a fleet of 53 geostationary satellites it claims can reach 99 percent of the world’s population. SES is based in Luxembourg.

Guimba-Saidou wrote an opinion piece in ScreenAfrica.com about how satellite power is giving people in Africa “more choice and more voice.”

Satellite proved its worth when demand outstripped supply for mobile network infrastructure and networks had to be deployed quickly – characteristics that mark satellite technology, he said.

The success of the mobile industry and the resulting access to information via the deployment of the Internet created new demand; people started demanding more locally relevant information. In many countries, local TV and radio stations have been established where previously licences were restricted to cities and regional capitals, Guimba-Saidou said. The nature of the information explosion caused a push to create more local media.

Technology has allowed previously unconnected populations in Africa to access myriad communication channels enabled by mobile and satellite power, he said. The migration from analogue to digital is having an enabling effect, making more frequencies available.

In countries like Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire where many people speak the same language, local language will create the demand for content and content will be driven by demand. Technology will allow channels will be set up, driven by demand. There’s now a low barrier to entry, Guimba-Saidou said. It’s possible to broadcast from a garage over the Internet.

He predicts small TV stations will grow up to serve niche markets. They’ll have limited resources but they will play an important role in bringing relevant content to niche markets. Initially this broadcasting will be small, but good local content will follow, he said. Content is important in the chain of the broadcast business.

Guimba-Saidou’s employer, SES, provides satellite capacity. There is a need for content to fill the channels, he said.

The proliferation of free-to-air (FTA) and free-to-view (FTV) channels being broadcast in Africa will push the creation of local and locally relevant content. The difference between the two, Guimba-Saidou said, is the fact that the FTV decoder has the flexibility to have further additional encryptions added. All digital TV requires the set-top box hardware.)

SES has played a role in growing the broadcast neighborhood in Africa via capacity deals with:
• East African pay-TV broadcaster Zuku TV (part of Wananchi Holdings)
• Soon-to-be launched FTA service from Platco Digital, a sister company of .etv in South Africa
• StarTimes Communication Network Technology, China’s influential systems integrator, technology provider and network operator and, Guimba-Saidou says, the fastest- growing digital TV operator in Africa.

“I foresee that the roll-out of satellite technology will be similar to what happened when the internet first came on stream,” Guimba-Saidou said. “At first it was only used for browsing websites, and has now grown to permeate all aspects of human activity. This will be the same for satellite technology as it is deployed more widely – initially it has been used to carry mobile networks and broadcasting, but this will grow and develop through innovations such as SAT-IP, which enables up to eight devices in a home to share the same TV feed. The fields of health, agriculture and education also represent areas which could greatly benefit from satellite technology, providing remote rural areas access to best practice care and information.”