06 November 2019

Soon broadcast, telecom, data and Internet broadband signals will be bouncing back and forth from a satellite located at the 17°E orbital position.

The satellite, AMOS-17, is the newest member of Spacecom’s multi-regional fleet providing services to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

For the fast-growing populations and economies of Asia and Africa this is an excellent sign as satellite communications represents the future. 

On August 6, 2019, from Cape Canaveral in the U.S.A., Spacecom’s AMOS-17 communication satellite soared upward towards its orbital position upon a SpaceX Falcon-9 launch vehicle.

Some 30 minutes after launch, the satellite separated from the launcher’s second stage and, as planned, began its contact with ground stations.

By the end of August, the satellite’s solar panels and antennas deployed as programmed.

The company expects commercial operations to begin in a few months following extensive rounds of In Orbit Testing.

Satellites in geo-stationary orbit stay in one spot during their lifetime.

For AMOS-17, this is the 17°E orbital position.

This position high above the African continent enables the satellite to provide services with its powerful beams to Africa and Southern Asia.

In addition, these beams connect Africa, Europe, the Middle East, India, China and other areas in Asia, and as far west as Brazil.

From 36,000 kilometers in the sky, the satellite will provide a plethora of services to help fuel and feed digital communications. 

Around the globe, especially for residents of Asia and Africa, broadband internet and telecom on-demand are staples of life.

If one thinks about it, people are coming to the realization that the Internet is so intertwined with their lives that they need it for their existence, not unlike bread and water. 

It is this need, especially for residents in rural and outlying regions, or those from mountainous and geographically difficult areas to reach, that satellite communications is vital.

Vast areas in Africa and Asia are either underserved or have intermittent connections to the outside world because they lack reliable ground-based communication infrastructure.

Due to the many citizens living in low-density population area such as in rural and outlying regions, straightforward economic justification for investing in ground telecom infrastructure projects by operators and governments is subdued.

This means that even today, the digital divide between urban and rural areas is growing. This growing chasm needs to be eradicated.

Africa is a huge continent with one of the world’s fastest growing populations.

Within a few years, the continent’s population is forecast to reach 1.5 billion – and it will continue rising.

The amount of young people under the age of 18 on the continent is close to half of its population.

Asia, with a population of 4.463 billion, or 60% of global population is also seeing a growth in youth with close to 26% being under the age of 29.

These younger populations are the largest and most savvy consumers of digital communications as they are the major users of applications and downloads, and as this population grows, it will consume more and more capacity.

Yet, today, the regions where many of these young people live, suffer from a lack of easy and economically viable internet access infrastructure. 

For governments, reaching its far-flung or hard to reach populations with digital services is a must. The easiest and most efficient method of long-distance services and communications is satellite. For corporations expanding their businesses into new regions, satellite again is the preferred method of providing services, Internet communication and data transfer. 

Spacecom took this into account in planning the satellite, ensuring that it meets the different needs of various communication services providers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

By tailoring the satellite specifically to assist businesses and governments overcome the digital divide, the company’s AMOS-17’s beams can efficiently reach outlying regions to provide services for the growing broadband, broadcast and communication needs of governments, communication operators, MNOs, broadcasters and cellular companies.

AMOS-17’s C-Band HTS enables provision of internet broadband services on one beam to a specific country, rather than using multiple beams for regional or full country HTS coverage

One new technology utilized on AMOS-17 is a “digital channelizer.”

This element significantly enhances bandwidth efficiency by dividing uplink and downlink spectrum into independently routable sub-channels and providing a connection from any uplink coverage area to any downlink coverage area.

It supports suppression of interferences, flexible capacity allocation, and other digital processing features for improved service while all command and control channels, as well as telemetry, are encrypted for maximum security.

AMOS-17’s digital channelizer provides connectivity between all beams in all available bands in any combination.

Thus, a client can use a combination of beams or can change its beam usage at any time to match all communication needs.

It also enables a seamless combination of AMOS-17’s fixed and steerable beams to a comprehensive integrated solution and ensures a fast response to customers’ changing needs.

For corporations operating in Asia and Africa, or considering expansion, this flexibility is a tremendous solution for multi-regional communications.

The opportunity is clear.

By enabling service providers or governments the ability to offer an extensive array of services quickly, highly efficiently and at low cost to these populations, the satellite contributes to creating a new economic stimulus that excites corporate as well as government officials seeking to better serve their outlying populations.

To get connectivity via AMOS-17, locals can set up a simple solar-powered terminal that functions in all types of weather, and requires very little maintenance, fueling, etc. It allows customers to minimize both their initial costs (CAPEX) and on-going operational costs (OPEX).

This is what really sets this satellite apart: it creates a clear and vital economic case that helps close the digital divide and generate an open path generating improved communication between people.