Late last year, Gartner released its ‘Hype Cycle for ICT in Africa’, identifying key technologies it expects will shape business on the continent. One technology the company suggests as a potential game-changer for Africa, and which will begin to take shape within the next five to 10 years, is that of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
There is no doubt about the impact that LEO satellites can have, what with their promise of low latency broadband at an extremely competitive cost, coupled with the ability to provide access not only to urban areas, but especially to rural and other poorly connected areas.
According to Leana Steyn, head of communications, media and entertainment at Falcorp, the use of LEO satellites for connectivity should also help to lower current data costs even further, thanks to the additional competition these satellites will create. However, the real benefits go deeper than this, as there is also enormous potential in terms of the impact it will have on the growth and development of Africa as a whole.
“As it stands, only 34% of Africa is connected today, so it is easy to imagine the broad economic impact it would have if the other 66% of the continent suddenly gained access to affordable and reliable Internet. After all, just think of the new fresh views, ideas and innovations that might come to light from bringing the Internet to these previously unconnected millions,” she says.
“Of course, despite the promise of these satellites, there remains a question around their viability for Africa, including South Africa, particularly when one considers the enormous costs involved in building and launching these machines. The most likely scenario will be one where the costs involved to send assets into space are absorbed by the current multinationals involved in the provision of satellite connectivity – such as Starlink and Google – which will end up providing the connectivity to Africa.”
While she is confident that prices will come down, as we have seen before with other new technologies that have emerged, this will still take time. Therefore, what would be ideal to drive the adoption of LEO satellite connectivity would be if a strong African player were to become more prevalent in the market. This would have the added benefit of helping advance the continent and its influence within the global economy.
“It must be remembered, too, that getting the satellite into space is only the initial part of the challenge. Low earth orbit also brings forth the challenge of space debris, which is no theoretical threat – debris of this nature recently destroyed an Iridium operational US comsat. Space debris is a huge concern at the moment for LEO satellites and the governance around how to deal with it is crucial.”
“Ideally, future LEO satellites should be designed in such a way that this equipment creates minimal space debris, while it should also be capable of being tracked and dealt with in a sustainable way. It should also be remembered that undertaking to build and launch such a satellite is a lengthy process – Gartner suggests time to market could take 5-10 years – something that is essentially a lifetime in today's rapidly evolving technology space.”
With this in mind, Steyn explains there is a very real possibility that in the next few years, there may yet again be a new technology on the horizon that can perform better the LEO satellites. This is the reality of technology that was first highlighted by Moore's law, many years ago. However, she adds, there is no reason to view this as anything other than a new opportunity, suggesting that the bright minds of Africa’s youth – once connected to the world – may well develop the next generation of communication and Internet capabilities.
“While it may still be a few years before South Africa and the rest of the continent sees any impact from the LEO satellites, I would say that this technology has amazing potential to improve the lives of the majority of people in Africa. Of course, digital literacy will also be crucial here, along with campaigns to educate the newly connected population around how best to benefit from this connectivity, while avoiding spreading misinformation.”
“Ultimately, the potential benefits far outweigh the challenges: LEO satellites have the potential to not only unlock enormous amounts of previously untapped potential, but could also be the segue into additional new technologies and innovations that may well help to solve some of the global challenges we face today,” concludes Steyn.
Share