Africa initiated a new communications satellite

By on August 11, 2010
sat-comIt is about the European rocket Ariane 5, which has orbited the telecommunications satellite Rascom. Covering mainly sub-Saharan Africa, the satellite, whose construction was entrusted in 1999 to Alcatel-Alenia (now Thales-Alenia), will connect African villages to the Internet without having to install expensive networks. Twenty-eight African countries have already committed to rent its services.
The new satellite replaces its older brother RQ1 orbit in December 2007. Victim of a helium leak, the first satellite that has seen life expectancy drop from 15 to 3 years. And Consequencly, it was urgent to replace it by early 2011.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has identified and listed the project of pan-African satellite system SAR ¬ COM-QAF as an infrastructure priority basis to facilitate the development of new information technologies and communication.
Like its predecessor, RQ1R has three objectives of providing telecommunications services to African operators and bridge the digital divide by connecting to broadband the great cities of the continent, but also by bringing the phone in remote areas through lowcost terminals.
One hundred and thirty thousand remote villages could be served by Visat: 15,000 antennas have already been commissioned for this purpose and would be ready to be installed. Other clients served, televisions, who, with the transition to high definition, become very large consumers of satellite links. To promote itself, com- Ras also announced 386 million euros in savings for the telecom sector through the elimination of interconnection fees.
According to RAS COM, the infrastructure of will enable  national telecommunications operators in Africa to develop a national database of traffic to make their earnings less dependent on international trade which they have less and less control over rates and may therefore increase revenue opportunities by the influx of African international traffic generated by the direct links between all African countries and all associated islands.

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