The impending provision of satellite services by NigComSat to Belarus signposts a quest to turn Nigeria from subscriber to provider, the first by any African country. Correspondent SAM NWOKORO reports.
It comes out of the blue, given Nigeria’s status in digital revolution, space technology, and industrialisation. But this story is true. Nigeria’s Communication Satellite (NigComSat) will soon provide services in Belarus, Eastern Europe.
The satellite that will provide the service is one of the large antennae communication satellites Nigeria built around 2005.
When juxtaposed with the recent launch of the pilot phase of Nigeria’s digital switch-over performed by NigComSat, it is certain that Abimbola Alale, the managing director, has brought her briefs in business administration and space science to bear on her job since she replaced Ahmed Rufai in February 2015.
It is like the house-cleaning she has done has fast-tracked pending deals the agency has with partners.
One of them is with the Belarus National System of Satellite Communication and Broadcasting (Belintersat), whose delegation came to Abuja to fine-tune the details of the contract.
$6 million rake in
Alale said the contract will fetch $6 million into Nigeria’s coffers for the 15 years it will last.
She inaugurated the in-orbit test service for Belintersat recently when its delegation, led by Andrei Yanovich, came to Abuja accompanied by a delegation of China Great Wall Corporation (CGWC), manufacturers of the satellite.
With the commencement of service from the Abuja Centre of NigComSat, the jinx that Nigeria has not attained the capacity to deliver satellite services off-shore has been broken.
Alale recounted that “NigComSat started this business before [others]. We have the experience as we have been here in the last 10 years.
“In the next two weeks, we shall also start the Carrier Spectrum Monitoring which also involves monitoring the traffic in the payload without sending any command since they (Belintersat) have clients that are based on the African continent.
“Within the next 15 years, we shall be monitoring their payload and at the same time sending the information on real time to Belarus as they have ground station there.”
Seamless
The deal between NigComSat and Belintersat is one of the best international business deals profitable to both countries.
It also fits into the transnationalism of the United Nations Protocols and Conventions on global sustainable development towards inclusive growth around the world.
It will create jobs in unexplored sectors of the economy and help launch Nigeria’s space technology and its opportunities on global windows.
George Mfon, an electronic engineer and consultant to an oil firm, said the contract “means that Nigeria will no longer be viewed as starters in space business. It will give NigComSat confidence to negotiate for more deals in the future.”
Belarus has the same KU and C bands as NigComSat which will further help Nigeria attain 50 per cent fill up rate.
The agency has also been preparing for NigComSat 2 and 3 in the past four years.
“Our due process certification is ready and handy, remaining the counterpart funding,” Alale disclosed.
“Channel partners take the service to the end users. NigComSat mostly passes broadband services and other major satellite applications to some television stations involved in broadcasting.”
The Belarusian contract was won in December 2015 after a bidding that involved other countries’ satellite service providers.
Back home, NigComSat has helped the military in broadband services.
In September 2014, it signed a deal with PPtv to lease DTH (Direct to Home) broadband capacity, multimedia, video streaming, and hotspot event services.
It leases bandwidths, too.
An amazon with focus
Nigeria’s space programme has over the years gulped a lot of money and the country has not derived much from the investment.
The business inclination of Alale has heralded change in attitude to work in the business sphere, for in today’s world, only those who dare succeed.
Alale holds a B.MR physiotherapy from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and an MSc in space studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France.
For well over a decade, she has pursued an active career in the space sector.
It began at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) where, as assistant project manager, she was part of the team that supervised the manufacture and launch in May 2007 of NigComSat-1, the first communication satellite in Africa.
She has worked on national priority projects such as NigComSat-1, NigComSat-1R, National Direct-to-Home Digital Transmission Centre, and National Micro Electronics Centre.
She serves on several national committees that advance the utilisation of space applications in Nigeria.
Alale’s interest also spans African development and utilisation of space applications, and as such monitors and reports the activities of Euroafrica-ICT to her national establishment.
She has represented Nigeria at international gatherings such as United Nations General Assembly in New York, UN Committee in Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in Vienna, and International Telecommunication Union.
Since she became NigComSat boss, she has taken initiatives to reposition it for greatness by fighting, along with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), against capital flight through the patronage of foreign satellite firms.
To guarantee local patronage, Alale has also ensured the CBN no longer approves requests for foreign exchange (forex) for bandwidth procurement from foreign firms.
The rise in demand for e-government services as well as for private sector goods and services requires a huge bandwidth, which NigComSat readily makes available, lowering the cost of doing business.
