A spanner has been thrown in the works for Vox Telecom's “low-cost satellite Internet broadband” service, following a delay with Yahsat's YahClick Y1B satellite, initially scheduled for launch in 11 days time.
Vox serves as Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat's South African service partner and was set to commence with physical coverage tests of its broadband service after the launch of the YahClick Y1B, on 21 February. According to Vox Telecom product manager, Jacques Visser, the project, a “huge” investment, will cover the whole of SA, save for the North Western Cape, and will play an important role in providing telecommunications infrastructure for rural and remote areas.
Visser says the launch has now been rescheduled for 15 April, due to unsuccessful launches of other satellites before Y1B at Karzakhstan, in December (2011) and January (2012). “The delay is due to glitches that were found on the ILS Proton launch vehicle.”
New technology
YahClick is based on Ka band (19GHz to 40GHz) technology that has only recently become available to the public. Visser explains: “Ka band satellites transmit many highly-focused, overlapping 'spot beams', each covering a relatively small area. That means you get a more powerful signal and much greater bandwidth at a lower price, even in the most rural and rugged areas.”
He says Ka band technology is a significant move towards reducing the cost of broadband. “Previous satellite systems, based on C band and Ku band technology, needed large dishes and were expensive to install and run. The biggest benefit [of the new service] is that, for the first time, you can get fast, affordable Internet even if there's no landline service available. ADSL is not available at all in many small towns and rural areas, and even in cities it can take weeks or months to get a service. YahClick provides the same or better bandwidth, at a comparable cost, in a couple of days.”
Despite the “unfortunate” delay with the launch of the satellite, Visser says Vox Telecom has everything in place from its side and looks forward to seeing 10 years of progress in satellite technology translate into an “affordable, high-speed broadband Internet service for South Africans, no matter where they live”.
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