Spacewatch 33

Brexit and the future European Space Industry Vol. 5 No. 11 May 2017 AFRICA Zittnet,Zittnet, NNigeria’igeria'ss f ifirstrst ruralrural wwirelessireless I SISPP Satellite as a critical infrastructures in Africa Congo to invest billions NIGERIAon satellite to expand internet access Vol. 4No. 5 C O N T E N T S Vol. 2, No. 15 Building community network across Africa Editor in-chief Aliyu Bello Executive Manager Tonia Gerrald Zittnet, the story of Nigeria's first SA to the editor in-Chief Ngozi Okey rural wireless ISP Head, Application Services M. Yakubu Nigeriato spendsmillions on satellite for Editorial/ICT Services John Daniel air traffic management Usman Bello NIPOST to offer unique “last mile” Alozie Nwankwo connectivity to customers Juliet Nnamdi Client Relations Sunday Tache Congo to invest billions on satellite to expand internet access Lookman Bello Multipurpose telecentres in rural Cameroon Safiya Thani Recent output rises is growing VSAT sites Marketing Offy Pat Satellite still a critical infrastructure in Africa Tunde Nathaniel Wasiu Olatunde Nigeria's dependence on C band Media Relations Favour Madu highest in Africa - survey Khadijat Yakubu Is IPTV a pipe dream? Zacheous Felicia Why more Bollywood films are Finance Folarin Tunde marketed in English Sports programming driving pay TV growth in Africa Space Watch Magazine is a publication of Horizon 2020: Algeria on the move Communication Science, Inc. All correspondence should Brexit and the future of European Space Industry be addressed to editor, space Watch Magazine. Abuja office: Plot 2009, Awka Street, UTC Building, GF 11, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, Tel: 234 80336471114, 070264 70427, email: [email protected] LEGAL CONSULTANTS Idowu Oriola & Co. Garki, Abuja DISTRIBUTION CONTACTS Ade Adejo ABIJAN INTERNATIONAL Suleija, Abuja AYO DISTRIBUTION AGENCY Emir Road, Ilorin Olumayowa Ojo NEWSROUND INTERNATIONAL Area 10, Garki, Abuja Magazine Circulation Nigeria Limited 90, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja Magazine Subscription Nigeria Limited Ikeja, Lagos. DELALI OTCHI Ridge Church, Tudu Branch, Accra, Ghana. Ports AL AHRAM NEWPAPERS LIMITED Al Galaa Street -11511 Cairo-Egypt Ayo Olu Deploying Integrated IT solutions for the ports system MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION AGENCY Jos, Plateau State. E d i t o r i a l Building community network across Africa Running UHD on DVB-S2X! Kerstin Roost, Public Relations Director at Newtec In the view of an IT commentator, the migration, the report predicts that than capacity-driven in rural regions. development of a region depends not more Africans will live in urban than in This means, project planners are only on the circulation of persons but rural regions by 2030. This constitutes more concerned with the area to also on the circulation of information. a real danger for the economy of cover than the capacity to provide. In a world that claims to be a global these countries. one, good information traffic is one of In case of wireless mesh network the most important concerns. Currently in Nigeria, more than 10 planning, the number of mesh terabytes of telecommunications routers is rather determined by the Addressing IMT’s pressure on aeronautical telecom services Because it enables the development capacity exists at the landing point, area to cover than the throughput of business models, the prevention of but the challenge is the deployment of required by a defined set of clients. d i s a s t e r s o r d i s e a s e s , t h e fiber infrastructure across the country implementation of new learning that will effectively distribute this The success of rural networks, such processes among others. But many capacity to the distribution nodes at as in Zambia, South-Africa or India, rural regions, sometimes also semi- the metropolitan areas of all regions in shows the role this type of network urban and even urban regions in the country that will supply sufficient can play in the development of rural Africa are still suffering from the lack fiber capacity to the backbone. communities. Although basic human of connectivity, and subsequently the needs are not completely satisfied in “digital divide” becomes more and these regions, access to information more apparent. Satellite has become an attractive enables education, medicare, o p t i o n f o r b u s i n e s s e s a n d participation in social and political As the map of the Internet World government offices that cannot processes, and so on. Stats can show, African Internet access other communications users represent only 7% of the world services, normally due to their remote Internet users in 2012 and 9.8% in or rural location. Wireless networks have 2014. “The Internet is becoming the overcome the long distances town square for the global village of In Cameroon some efforts have been between rural population and tomorrow”, but Africa is still made to reduce the urban-rural digital towns; distances that prevent neglecting. divide by the launch of the multipurpose community telecentres t h e m f r o m a c c e s s i n g e d u c a t i o n a l , m e d i c a l , Rural regions host the majority of the project for rural communities since population in Africa. According to UN, 2003. governmental or other services. the percentage of the African population living in these regions is Also, Ugandan Community Wireless A typical deployment consists of estimated to 60.1 per cent. This Resource Centres have had great linking a nearby city to a so-called represents a great market; and to achievements in its few years of kiosk located in a remote village. take advantage, new suitable and existence. The field of Wireless Usually, these kiosks or points of affordable services should be Networking is attracting more and interest host some basic services developed. more populace in Uganada, as like Internet access, health, call wireless networks are becoming Moreover, the emerging policy of services or others. Although the some African developing countries increasingly popular and rumours of results of this prior kiosk model essentially relies on agriculture that is resourceful training at CWRC is mostly done in rural regions. spreading around the university. have been acceptable, the Therefore, a greater percentage of increase of user connectivity the rural population constitutes also In Nigeria, Fantsuam Foundation has demand and the opportunity to an important workforce for reaching become the first rural wireless ISP develop new business models in the emerging goals of reducing and now recognized leader in the order to bridge the digital divide poverty to socially acceptable levels provision of rural development requires more than just a kiosk and of becoming a middle-income initiatives, and the foremost and model. The aim is therefore to country. thriving rural knowledge economy spread this signal in a rural region driver in Nigeria. The wireless ISP of rather than just providing The rural exodus however could Fantsuam Foundation is called as connectivity to a point of interest seriously hinder such a program. A Zittnet, meaning “our network” in the report from UN-Habitat states that 14 Fantsuam language. in a locality. According to this, million people in Sub-Saharan Africa However, according to African IT some rural networks based on migrate from rural to urban regions experts, the planning of these wireless mesh network (WMN) every year. Considering this networks is usually coverage rather have been already set-up. Zittnet, the story of Nigeria's first rural wireless ISP Not-for-profit internet connectivity! “Can this really work? While the business of Internet connectivity in Africa is still in the hands of private companies, in Nigeria, Zittnet, a not-for-profit wireless Internet Service Provider have emerged from a local initiative in a rural community to provide shared connectivity for cyber café, hospitals and commercial banks in Kafanchan town. One might ask, “Is there really a Fantsuam language. connection in Kafanchan, which demand for Internet services in a belonged to Fantsuam Foundation place like Kafanchan”? Kafanchan is a Before venturing into internet and had a monthly bandwidth rural community of approximately services, Fantsuam Foundation has subscription cost of 1,250 USD. 83,000 people, located 200 km north- been working together with the In this community, fixed telephony east of Abuja in central Nigeria. community of Kafanchan since 1996 (PSTN) is no longer available and Though the town used to be known for to fight poverty and disadvantage GSM coverage has just begin to its busy and thriving busines through integrated development improve in terms of the quality of the activities, it best known as the site of programs. Fantsuam's focus lies on service. Further challenging the one of the main junctions of the micro finance, ICT services and social people of Kafanchan is the access to national railway, Kafanchan is a poorly development in rural communities in electricity. Kafanchan receives an connected area in terms of fixed Nigeria. average of 3 hours per day of power telephony and Internet connectivity. from electricity organization. Despite In order to run an effective t h i s c h a l l e n g e s , F a n t s u a m Well, despite its size, Kafanchan organization, Fantsuam Foundation Foundation got the idea and came up hosts no fewer than five tertiary relies heavily on national and with the plan of establishing a rural educational institutions and a campus international volunteers. The national wireless ISP in the community. of Kaduna State University. volunteers are typically youths who Additionally, there are several small have completed training at Fantsuam. A frontline Nigerian medical doctor and medium sized businesses in the The subsidized training provided for Chris Azukaeme, a man in his fifties, area, as well as a Government the volunteers comes with the has been running his own health clinic hospital and a secondary-level expectation that they will serve the for more than a decade in Kafanchan, referral hospital.

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