Technology
Major Factors Delaying Digital Transition in Africa—Eutelsat
By Dipo Olowookere
For a while now, most African countries have found it very difficult to switch over from analogue broadcasting to digital.
Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa, has also not been able to fully switch over to digital broadcasting.
It is already two years now since the digital migration deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Africa expired and yet only six African nations have completed digital transition.
Recall that in 2006, ITU, a UN agency, issued the Geneva 2006 agreement, signalling the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial television services.
The reason for this was to stimulate ICT applications and make more efficient use of spectrum through the digital dividend that comes with phasing out analogue TV.
Although the initial deadline, set for June 2015, was missed by most African countries, the digital revolution is nevertheless underway in a number of countries, including Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
A recent report released by Eutelsat highlighted the major challenges delaying the digital transition in Africa.
According to the report, the main challenge to deploying nationwide Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is to manage timely and equitable switchover for everyone in order not to create a Digital Divide that separates the homes with digital from the homes left only with analogue.
The challenge, the report said, is particularly steep for countries with a large landmass, mountain ranges or islands that typically remain beyond range of terrestrial networks, or with interference issues in border regions.
Most terrestrial operators deploy fibre networks and DTT towers on the basis of return on investment, meaning they concentrate on areas with a certain population density and they neglect users in more rural or semi-rural areas. This means there is a real risk that exclusive use of terrestrial technologies can permanently leave too many consumers beyond range of the benefits of digital.
Eutelsat further said funding is another challenge, explaining that the cost of a nationwide DTT network is often underestimated and can put the break on switchover.
“The lack of attractive local content to fill up the channels that have been made available by DTT projects and funding for a public awareness campaign are also major setbacks that need to be overcome,” it added.
However, none of these issues need be a deal breaker. There are cost-effective and time-efficient solutions that can resolve the challenges, notably hybrid networks that use terrestrial as the basic platform and satellites to deliver channels to terrestrial towers and directly to homes beyond range of digital reception, the report pointed out.
The report said once the problems of cost, reach and speed of deployment are resolved, the challenges for any country preparing for digital transition will shift to managing the service, sourcing consumer hardware, set-top box distribution and content.
“In sharing our longstanding technical and commercial experience from working with public and private broadcasters, as well as regional governments around the world, Eutelsat can provide the most suitable satellite and best-in-class technical solution with the required expertise to drive the digitalisation process and contribute to the growth of a dynamic and lasting broadcast sector,” the report said.
It further explained that, in many regions C-band is the preferred choice for distributing content to terrestrial towers thanks to its resistance to rain fades. Ku-band has the advantage of enabling smaller dishes and is frequently used to complement terrestrial networks by Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform operators.
Two solutions are possible in combining DTT and DTH: hybrid solutions with C and Ku-band, using C-band for feeding towers and a DTH complement in Ku-band for homes in rural areas.
Alternatively, a single band solution, adopted notably in Zimbabwe, uses a single Ku-band transmission to feed towers as well as homes equipped with a Direct-to-Home dish.
On the benefit of digital transition, Eutelsat said, “The transition from analogue to digital TV is a logical development for the broadcasting industry, bringing significant advantages for all players across the value chain.
This, it said, include opportunity to transform the diversity, signal quality and reach of channels into viewer homes, opportunity to generate infrastructure upgrades and stimulate Africa’s vibrant content creation industry, and helps in the release of analogue frequencies for other applications such as mobile services.
“This is why private players like China’s pay-TV provider StarTimes, Canal + Overseas or MultiChoice are already establishing themselves as the continent’s key players in fast-tracking digital migration efforts,” it emphasised.
Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world’s leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across video, data, government, fixed and mobile broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location.
Over 6,600 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks.
Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat assembles 1,000 men and women from 32 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service. Eutelsat Communications is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, OpenAI, on Monday announced that it closed one of the largest private funding rounds in history to boost AI research.
According to a blog post on the company’s website, OpenAI raised $40 billion in a round that values the company at $300 billion.
Japan’s SoftBank led the round, with other participants including Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive, all of which are earlier backers in the outfit.
OpenAI said it plans to use the fresh capital to “push the frontiers of AI research even further” and scale its compute infrastructure, according to the blog post.
“[This new capital] enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week,” OpenAI wrote in the blog post.
“We’re excited to be working in partnership with SoftBank Group — few companies understand how to scale transformative technology like they do.”
About $18 billion of the funding is expected to be used for OpenAI’s commitment to Stargate.
Recall that the joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle was announced by President Donald Trump in January.
The initial funding will be $10 billion, followed by the remaining $30 billion by the end of 2025, the person said. But the round comes with a caveat.
SoftBank said in an updated disclosure that its total investment could be slashed to as low as $20 billion if OpenAI doesn’t restructure into a for-profit entity by December 31.
This come amid pressure on OpenAI to pull off the for-profit conversion, a plan that will need the blessing of Microsoft and the California Attorney General, and has been challenged in court by Mr Elon Musk, who was one of the co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, when it was started as a non-profit research lab.
The company’s current and unusual hybrid structure includes a capped-profit limited partnership created in 2019. The original nonprofit is the controlling shareholder and would be spun out as an independent entity if the company can restructure.
OpenAI’s venture backers have received convertible notes that would turn into equity.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Stakeholders in the telecommunications sector in Nigeria have resolved to establish a working group dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including the vandalization and theft of infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fibre cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorized individuals by leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites and collaborating more with the security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these challenges.
This followed extensive deliberations at an event organised by IHS Nigeria, part of the IHS Holding Limited, to develop a multi-stakeholder action plan for the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets in Lagos State.
The stakeholders underscored the need to prioritize deterrence and prevention of these incidents and highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitize the host communities and public of the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.
“The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders.
“We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers.
“Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations,” the Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer of HIS Nigeria, Mr Dapo Otunla, stated.
Recognizing the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of these vital assets.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).
Also in attendance were representatives from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and InfraCos as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security agency tasked with the protection of Critical National Infrastructure across the country.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Two of the major telecommunications companies in Africa, Airtel Africa Plc and MTN Group, have entered into agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria.
The idea behind this is to cost operating costs and improve network coverage for quality mobile services to millions of customers, particularly in remote areas.
However, this would be carried out in compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements.
The initiative is part of a growing global trend toward network sharing. By collaborating, telecoms operators can explore innovative and pro-competitive solutions to improve service quality while managing costs more effectively.
The sharing of infrastructure has the potential to enable the delivery of world-class, reliable mobile services to more and more customers across Africa.
Already, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the types of agreements considered are RAN sharing and those aimed at establishing commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
“As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services and our offerings we are building common infrastructure, within the permissible regulatory framework, to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway to drive digital and financial inclusion at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure to drive operational efficiencies and benefits for our customers,” the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said.
His counterpart at MTN Group, Mr Ralph Mupita, while commenting on the development, said, “As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
“We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets. To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.
“That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns.”
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