SWANSAT canvasses for support from Africa

Details: Category: Satellite Networks; 17 December 2007; 7095 views

SWANSAT - the Super-Wide Area Network Satellite - first proposed as a satellite based service in 2003, aims to provide low cost voice and data services using a constellation of four high powered geosynchronous orbit (GSO) telecommunications satellites... SWANSAT - the Super-Wide Area Network Satellite - first proposed as a satellite based service in 2003, aims to provide low cost voice and data services using a constellation of four high powered geosynchronous orbit (GSO) telecommunications satellites.

The satellites would be licensed for global provision of two-way broadband services utilizing ten GHz of electromagnetic frequency in the W-band. Each SWANSAT bi-directional signal will cover the globe, except for the North and South Poles. Each satellite will be capable of delivering 600 million 2 Megabit/second broadband Internet connections and about 250,000 video channels to island nations and other world communities that are now either underserved, not being served at all, or currently served at high cost to the end user.

The first satellite is planned for deployment in 2012, with follow-on launches slated every six to nine months until a full deployment has been accomplished. If SWANSAT's vision is completed there will be twelve satellites in total.

SWANSAT hopes to provide two-way broadband ICT services to residents of least developed countries (LDC's) and developing countries (DC's), utilizing its Shareware Telecommunications model. This will meet sustainable development and wide open access goals of the UN Economic and Social Council's ECOSOC 2000 Ministerial Declaration in full consistency with many UN Millennium Development Goals.

The shareware model involves a small number of non-subsidized subscriptions from residents of G7 nations being accepted as a base for subsidizing subscriptions accepted from residents of non-G7 nations, including residents of LDC's and DC's and from those serving the underserved in these nations. As part of Swansat's marketing drive in Africa the company will be participating at ICT Africa in Addis Ababa in February 2008.

More info: