3 minute read
Satellite broadcast services
Delivering content to a continent
Education and entertainment in Africa can both benefit from the reach of satellites – as operator Intelsat knows only too well. Christell Meyer, director of sales, Intelsat South Africa, told Communications Africa about two ongoing collaborations that can help to benefit both TV viewers and students.
SATELLITE OPERATOR INTELSAT and content aggregator AfricaXP recently worked together to extend the satellite footprint of AfricaXP’s PremiumFree TV offering with the Intelsat 20 satellite. Intelsat also recently extended its partnership with Mindset Network NPC, an awardwinning developer and distributor of educational materials in Africa.
Following these recent announcements, Christell Meyer, director of sales, Intelsat South Africa, discussed with Communications Africa satellite’s role in both entertainment and education in Africa – from the point of view of a company that is helping to enable both.
Communications Africa: How has the African TV market developed since you first offered coverage? Christell Meyer: Intelsat has been part of the communications fabric in Africa since 1965, and was the first operator to introduce satellite services, enabling critical communications infrastructure across the continent.
Viewership habits in Africa have really evolved since we started offering services. The world’s second-largest and youngest population, the continent is currently home to the largest growing TV market, with consumers demanding a more
Photo: Christelle Meyer
Christelle Meyer, director of sales, Intelsat South Africa.
personalised media experience across a variety of connected devices, as well as more localised content, international news and entertainment offerings.
To meet this growing demand, we have had to adapt. When we started serving Africa, Intelsat’s first satellite, known as Early Bird, could only support 240 voice circuits or one TV circuit. Today, Intelsat operates the largest satellite fleet over Africa, with seven prime orbital locations, and the largest video neighbourhoods serving over 200 broadcast customers. Through our prime orbital locations, we provide international and local coverage to communities throughout the entire African continent, reaching more than 40 million people via active pan-African and top international channels in 10 languages, and across a variety of genres.
Communications Africa: The Intelsat 20 is a GEO satellite and Ku-band is used for the African service offering. Why? Christell Meyer: Intelsat 20, just like all Intelsat satellites, is located in geostationary orbit, as we believe that the broadcast and multicast capabilities of GEO satellites are the most efficient and secure way to deliver large amounts of content to multiple points. Since they are located at a greater height, GEO satellites cover a larger geographical area, enabling us to reach everywhere across the continent, even the most remote villages, while their fixed position means that satellites can permanently focus their capacity over the region of demand to deliver enhanced services.
Intelsat 20’s strong, focalised Kuband beams bring high-quality content to viewers in sub-Saharan Africa. While some of our satellites have multiple frequencies, Ku-band offers higher transmission power over smaller geographic areas and can be received with smaller ground equipment. For our customers in Africa, this means a flexible, yet costeffective, solution to their needs.
Relying on Intelsat 20, AfricaXP’s PremiumFree TV has extended its satellite footprint, adding 40 million dishes to its reach. The Ku-band geostationary satellite, located at 68.5°E, Intelsat 20 is the premier directto-home (DTH) video neighbourhood in Africa, reaching key markets in virtually all of subSaharan Africa.
Communications Africa: As it’s free-to-air, what is the AfricaXP business model? Christell Meyer: We’ve seen over the past few years the failure of several new pay TV initiatives, but we believe that multichannel freeto-air TV delivered over satellite will play a key role in the future of the African TV market. AfricaXP’s PremiumFree is a great initiative that will stimulate the market by offering value to a segment that cannot afford to pay regularly for premium content. A strong free-toair offering will drive the penetration of TV sets, which will in turn stimulate content development and grow viewing habits. In parallel, the
