CUSTOMERS. This approach will enable
Es’hailSat’s broadcast customers to reach
out to a significantly wider
range of viewers that use
smartphones, tablets, and
PCs to watch video content, in
addition to viewers that use
traditional satellite dishes,
STBs, and television sets. By
leveraging the economies
of scale of an OTT platform
of the Es’hailSat bouquet,
broadcast customers will
benefit from a much-reduced
capital investment compared
to a self-developed platform.
From the perspective of
the telecommunication sector,
mobility stands out as one of
the fastest growing segments
in the market. According
to the NSR Global Satellite
Capacity Supply & Demand
report, it is estimated that
by 2028, there will be an
addition of approximately 705
more transponders serving
the mobility sector globally
on Geostationary satellites
compared to 2018.
This growth is as a result
of the growing demands
for anywhere and anytime
connectivity by the end
user. For example, there has
been increasing demand by
passengers to stay online over
long haul flights, with more and
more airlines providing inflight
Internet service across most
regions.
CONNECTIVITY. The
trend is still evolving, and it
is expected that in future the
requirement for connectivity
will range from flight safety
requirements to infotainment
needs on-board. On the other hand, it is also
fuelled by various developments across the
telecommunication and satellite industry in all
aspects from ground to space, across the value
chain.
With regards to space, developments
over the past few years has seen deployment
of two new class of satellite types i.e.,
High-Throughput satellite (HTS) and Non-
geostationary orbit constellation (NGSO).
HTS satellite focuses on connectivity
requirements via multi spot beam coverage
with high frequency reuse. Non-geostationary
constellations on Medium Earth Orbit (MEO),
and in-planning Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
focuses on high data rate, low latency and cost-
effective communication over satellite.
The emergence of a new class of satellite
allows more effective delivery for applications
compliance requirements for flight safety.
Flat panel antennae generally use phased
arrayed antennae to generate a
steerable beam of radio waves
electronically. The phased
array antennae is able to
maintain position on a satellite
while in motion.
At present, as a result of
high costs and the variable
performance it offers, flat
panel antennae have been a
niche product limiting their
market potential. However,
the cost of production for these
types of antenna is expected
to come down as a result of
surging aero and maritime
connectivity demands, along
with increased use of NGSO
constellations that is expected
to come online after 2020.
Finally, with continuous
development in 5G, satellite
is expected to play a role
such as cellular backhaul, mobility and consumer
broadband segment. With the capability to
deliver very high throughput, the cost per bit
has reduced significantly resulting in affordable
price points for consumers and end users. This
has been particularly important in emerging
markets, where it can be used to broaden the
availability of mobile telecommunications to rural
and remote areas with low income per capita.
On the remote terminal side, the development of
flat panel antenna technologies allows improved
antenna performance and minimised form factor
for installation on vehicles, smaller yachts and
aircraft.
ANTENNAE. The form factor and low-
profile design is particularly important for
antennae on an aircraft because of stringent
and form part of a larger
communication network
together with other 5G
terrestrial technology to offer
the required availability and
coverage as per the standard.
5G. There is a huge potential
of use cases under 5G with
satellite. The use of software
defined networking (SDN)
offers the opportunity to
support non-latency sensitive
requirement, i.e., video over
satellite as well as backup
networks to rural areas. This
will help to reduce bottlenecks
in data transmission and
increase efficiency on the
use of overall network
resources. Satellite capability
to cover wide areas is also
a much-needed support
for deployment of Internet of Things (IoT),
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the overall
Smart City movement in suburban areas.
Es’hailSat firmly believes that satellite
communication will remain as one of the main
drivers for future connectivity requirements
and will continue to invest and explore new
areas to support the growth of the industry.
With the commissioning of state-ofthe art
Teleport in early 2019, broadcast customers and
content providers now will be able to leverage
on Es’hailSat capability to perform playout and
uplink their video streams to Es’hailSat satellites
without heavy capital investment. Es’hailSat also
collaborates with various partners to offer best
in class products supporting the requirements of
the mobility sector.
MENA Special EUROMEDIA 15