Stakeholders okay NigComSat-1R (July, 2011)

Stakeholders at the just concluded NigComSat-1R pre-launch conference in Abuja have expressed satisfaction on the proposed NigComSat-1R launch due in December 2011 by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation in the Peoples Republic of China.

The stakeholders who comprised of delegations of about 600 that attended the conference including security chiefs, academics and researchers, private sector leaders, regulators and public sector stakeholders and the media made this position known in a communiqué issued shortly after the conference in Abuja.

They observed that NigComSat-1R is an in-orbit delivery programmed by China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) which is a replacement for NigComSat-1 satellite to provide a critical ICT backbone infrastructure to drive the national ICT revolution by providing a cost effective solution and affordable access to meet the nation’s telecommunications, broadcast, aviation, maritime, defense, security and revenue diversification needs of the nation.

Further to this, the stakeholders said thatNigComSat-1R is a hybrid, high power, quad band geostationary satellite which inherits almost all the design features of NigComSat-1 with just very few modifications on the payload which is aimed at addressing domestic and international markets needs

. ‘The NigComSat-1R will be delivered on a DFH-4 platform which has a mass of 5,150kg and will use the Chinese LM-3B/E launch vehicle when it launches in December, 2011 to the same 42.5 E orbital location that was occupied by NigComSat-1’ said the communique.

It has a communication payload of 28 active and 12 redundant transponders making for a total of 40 in the C, KU, and ka bands. It will also provide services including digital TV broadcasting, direct to home broadcasting and public safety and emergency communications trunking services.

In a keynote address on the theme “Powering Nigeria’s digital Economy by enabling wireless broadband technologies for the last mile”, the former Executive Vice Chairman; Engr. Ernest Ndukwe believes that companies operating in Nigeria are paying high bandwidth charges for satellite links in the country. This he observed has discouraged extensive medium for long distance transmission requirements.

He regretted that these high charges have prevailed in spite of the fact that the Nigerian business represents over 60% of the African business portfolio for a number of the international satellite organizations.

Engr. Ndukwe however, urged NICOMSAT to drive down charges by consolidating the requirements of the service providers and using that to offer better bandwidth prices. In his contributing paper, Professor Takeshi Utsumi, of Global System Analysis and Simulation Association in the United States of America (GLOSAS/USA), posited that the 21st century is information and knowledge societies.

That the information society requires advance telecom network based on globally collaborative creativity, which would require distributed simulation technology for hands-on experiential learning with ‘multiple heads is better than single’ principle.

Also in contribution in a paper ‘Software as a driving force for satellite communications’ the President of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) Dr. Chris Uwaje drew a conclusion on a more cogent paradigm shift in the application of world class knowledge dynamics of relation with the combined used of normative (role-playing) gaming with quantitative simulation classified as an advanced approach that sets a new and high standard in the search for breath-taking human innovation and sustainable development.

Therefore, he sees communication satellite domain as a representative of a deliverable for nation building and in particular its software components.

He said it is a fundamental mission that Nigeria must foster, promote and exploit the immense opportunities in communications satellite software solutions.

In an opening address, the Minister for Science and Technology Professor Ita Okon Bassey Ewa who was represented by the Director, ICT in the Ministry, Engr. Abdulwahab Jimoh stated that with the launch ofa new satellite, there will be opportunities for new business development and growth in Africa. ‘One of the socio-economic benefits will be youth empowerment through business outsourcing as obtains in the Asian countries today. This will translate to a new source of employment and wealth creation for our citizens. Satellite technology affects every aspect of our lives through e-banking, e-governance, telecommunications, broadcasting, e-commerce and many more’.

He called on the conference to bring to light the critical relevance of satellite communications to national development, most especially in view of our difficult topographical terrain and the vulnerability of other solutions to theft, vandalism and natural disaster.

Earlier in his welcome speech, the Managing Director, Chief Executive, Engr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai said the de-orbiting of NigComSat-1 brought a moment of soul searching to the organisation.

‘We experience a lull because of the challenges but used the interlude to rediscover our inner strengths and hidden treasure. Consequently, we have since readjusted our acts to move on, Rufai said.

Expressing satisfaction on the level of support given by the federal government, Engr. Rufai said ‘we are encouraged by the federal government to go beyond NigComSat-1R to also procure and launch in due course, NigComSat 2 and 3 as backups to starve off crisis that may follow any breakdown’, he said.

NigComSat-1R is expected to be launched in December, 2011 and to start commercial operation the following year.