Page 33 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 1 2013

THE CHANNEL | ISSUE 1 2013 | 33
sessions with distribution partners
and installers to make sure the dish
is properly installed and that there
are enough technicians available.
Roll‐out is very quick and in the
countries where the roll‐out has
started the numbers are good and
the trends are encouraging.
Through the installer
programme, we build up local
presences and work on the ground
with local partners. We are creating
jobs and essentially a whole new
eco‐system. Those who have been
trained can then train other people.
And of course those installers can
quickly be trained to install dishes
for other purposes, for satellite
broadband for example.
Is anybody else doing similar things?
For now, no. And thatʹs what
makes this project unique, it
demonstrates our commitment to
building and growing business on
the continent. Itʹs a time consuming
and costly process but since we are
here for the long term we want to
make that investment. Basically, we
want to be able to offer similar
quality and type of services in
Africa as we offer anywhere else.
And the service is not just to
provide bandwidth, itʹs really the
overall value proposition. Where
there are shortages of skills we try
to find ways to compensate for that
and thatʹs why we have the installer
training programme in Africa.
Africa though is not one country,
itʹs 50+ distinct countries. Even
neighbouring countries can have a
completely different agenda on
how they develop digital TV. So
what we have been doing with our
ʹSES Caravanʹ initiative is to visit
different countries – over 20 so far –
and discuss with the stakeholders
their plans regarding ending the
digital divide or meeting the 2015
deadline to convert to digital
broadcasting. We share our
experience with the enterprise and
telecommunications sector and
make ourselves available to help
them realise their visions and plans.
As you are aware many
countries are running out fibre or
bringing in submarine cable, and
we are showing them that if they
combine that with the satellite
option/solution that we are
offering, the overall proposition
becomes much more attractive and
much more cost‐efficient. How else
would you be able to connect 700m
people on the continent if not by
using the satellite solution?
How receptive have broadcasters
been?
The reaction has been good because
in many cases people did not think
of satellite at all, or their conception
of satellite was that it is expensive
and mostly had to be exclusively
pay‐TV because on the continent
the big players have been pay‐TV
operators. So seeing that they could
indeed achieve the same if not
better results via satellite and FTA
has been an eye‐opener in many
cases. A number of countries which
were planning to roll out on fibre
have asked us to come back now to
discuss the satellite solution,
perhaps moving to a hybrid
solution which at the end of the day
should be a more cost‐efficient
solution.
How is Africa catching up?
Much quicker than many people
think. The continent is jumping one
or two steps in terms of adoption of
technology. Just look at the success
of the GSM networks. The
challenge is just cost. How can you
make it more affordable? In Africa
we are trying to aggregate the
content in such a way that it
becomes more affordable to bring
FOCUS | THE CHANNEL
How else
would you
connect
700m
people if
not by
using the
satellite
solution?
“
TV channels on satellite. HD will
grow at a fast pace because people
who are buying their first ever TV
set now can choose one that is ʹHD
readyʹ.
Our SAT>IP technology will also
be available in Africa in early 2013.
Itʹs a great step forward in satellite
reception as it removes the DVB‐
S/S2 layer after reception and
converts the satellite signal to an IP
signal and gives you satellite TV on
any IP enabled device in the home
– up to 8 channels on 8 different
screens. Many African households
already have IP enabled devices,
African entrepreneurs are
launching their own brand of
tablet, so the demand is there.
What's the outlook?
For me Africa is really the future.
Itʹs the last place on earth where
almost everything has to be built
from scratch and there is a good
basis of customers that are just
waiting to be served. On the
continent people are always on the
move, so communication will grow
tremendously, as will the number
of TV channels, including HD. So
the offering is triple play, HD and
good broadband on mobile devices.
In most countries we see a
correlation between internet
penetration and a growth in GDP,
so if we extrapolate that I think the
continent has a bright future
because GDP will continue to grow
tremendously in many African
countries.
Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, thank you.
www.ses.com
▼
Samsung
Football Fest in
Gabon
▼
Top Sat>IP
Below Installers
receiving training
inGhana