06 Dec 2022

 SADC  has been implored to consider investing heavily in research and development to support its deployment of satellites in orbit.

Giving the keynote address at  a SADC satellite communications workshop in Maun yesterday, Ministry of Communications, Knowledge and Technology acting permanent secretary, Mr Pontsho Pusoetsile said the heavy reliance on other regions to supply satellite bandwidth limited its widespread use among SADC member states.

To address the state of affairs, he said members must collaborate to reduce the high cost of launching a satellite into space. 

“We also as a region need to invest in research efforts aimed at finding solutions to technical limitations associated with satellite communications such as limited bandwidth and high latency,” he added.

Mr Pusoetsile said SADC member states should not be left behind in the deployment of hybrid communication systems as their vision was to provide citizens with universal access to information communication technology services and products as well as achievement of regional integration.

He noted that achieving universal access to services was made difficult by challenging terrains which increased the cost of deploying terrestrial communications systems.

SADC, he said, could learn from Intelsat which used satellite and terrestrial communication systems to provide a relay link carrying television, telephone and telefax traffic across the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr Pusoetsile said currently,  the scale of use for a satellite communication system was only limited by people’s imagination.

Many companies, he said, were innovating ways to provide communication services in critical areas such as telecommunications, meteorology, remote sensing, navigation and military.

“I am hereby challenging the experts gathered here to ensure its many uses also extend to addressing the many challenges faced by our communities.  We must move away from being spectators and become active participants in devising innovative ways of solving communication challenges faced by people in rural and underserved remote communities,” he said.

Mr Pusoetsile said SADC needed to increase infrastructural development in the space industry by creating synergies rather than duplicating efforts to transfer knowledge and technical know-how among its players.

In addition, he said every member state should introduce space science as part of the school curriculum to induce interest in satellite research.

Access to communication services had entrenched itself as a fundamental human right that needed to be enjoyed by all, he stated.

Pointing out that nowadays communities depended on technology to work, trade, socialise and access public services irrespective of their socio-economic status, Mr Pusoetsile urged member states to find means and ways to connect even those living in hard to reach places.

However, he commended efforts by African countries to develop, deploy and operate their own satellite systems. 

He applauded South Africa and Angola for leading the pack and noted that Botswana had joined the race.

The acting permanent secretary advised SADC to speak with a united voice against misuse of scarce resources such as spectrum which played a critical role in availing communication services to citizens.

Member states needed to share the available spectrum to achieve national and regional goals, he said. 

Mr Pusoetsile emphasised that conflicts over spectrum spillage needed to be resolved amicably through dialogue, mutual respect and cordial engagement.

Amicable dialogue, he said was possible if SADC had a pool of skilled experts to identify and address signal spillage and interference timeously before they disrupted national services. ENDS