Satcom Africa 2006 gets under way today. Described as the only trade fair on the African continent dedicated to the Pan-African satellite industry, the conference and exhibition will run at the Sandton Convention Centre until 23 February.
According to Martin Jarrold, the Global VSAT Forum`s chief of international programme development, the conference will examine opportunities for global access and interconnectivity that come from satellite technology as a platform.
Jarrold says comparing the cost of using satellite as a platform to deliver communications services (voice, data and video applications) with that of using fibre optic cable or with wireless infrastructure options is not a straightforward process.
Satellite remains a solid option in the African context, especially where vast and inaccessible geography and topology, as well as insufficient energy infrastructure, make it too difficult and costly to use wire-line and fibre optic links, he says.
He also notes that it is easier to support a communication network with relatively few antennae as compared to a chain of microwave antennae.
Jarrold is chairing the morning session, which examines global trends in satellite communication and how satellite can improve telecoms in Africa.
Independent Communications Authority of SA chairman Paris Mashile is expected to deliver a keynote address, as well as take part in a round-table discussion on policy and regulations.
Keynote speakers include Earnest Nukwe, CEO of the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission; Akossi Askossi, secretary general of the African Telecommunications Union; and Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.
Related stories:
Focus on broadband satellite in West Africa
Support for TRASA`s wireless policy draft
Share