Broken Hill site of teleport facility for NBN’s satellite service

NBN Co has chosen Broken Hill in New South Wales as the site of a satellite ground station to be built in support of the broadband project’s longer term satellite service. Already, NBN’s interim satellite offering has been servicing over 17,000 premises down under, with download speeds of 6mbps being sold wholesale to several Internet by satellite providers.

Broken Hill is considered the capital of the outback, and the new satellite ground facility will be built 9 kilometers away from the city, which is also connected via fibre to the nationwide broadband network. The facility will join the nine others being constructed across Australia that will uplink to the Ka band satellites also being built by NBN, and slated for a 2015 launch

Around 20 to 30 construction workers will be employed during the construction of the ground station in Broken Hill. Accordingly around 300 will be employed for the building of all ten satellite ground stations. Last month, NBN Co announced that it had already awarded contracts to two companies for the project.

New Avanti HYLAS 2 satellite to deliver broadband access across Africa

Avanti Communications’ recent launch of the HYLAS 2 communications satellite may revolutionize the way broadband access is delivered at present in Africa. Many of the nations in the continent rely on terrestrial fibre networks and undersea cables. Unfortunately, the terrestrial networks are not enough to cover regions that are remote, and the undersea fibre-optic systems connecting the continent to Asia and Europe are prone to damages from shipping vessels, disrupting the services, leaving many citizens without Internet access and causing losses for businesses.

 

Satellite coverage of the Hylas 2

But the recent launch of the Avanti satellite may change all that, especially for Southern and Eastern Africa. The HYLAS 2 satellite, which was launched last August from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana in South America, has already completed orbital testing last month, and will soon be ready for commercial services.

 

Operators are looking at the vessel to transmit capacity for wireless broadband access, which will diversify sources of Internet access in Africa. Residents, businesses, and other organizations with satellite dishes can received up to 20 mbps from the HYLAS 2. This development comes after a study by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation in Africa looking at the more crucial role satellite communications is playing in rolling out broadband access in the continent.

 

According to the report, increase in broadband availability is one of the driving forces for economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. At present, 40% of the region is cut off from broadband access. Satellite internet may be the only choice for many residents, as well as small businesses, requiring remote connectivity. Avanti Communications is already looking into tapping into this growing demand. The second HYLAS satellite is slated for a 2015 launch, and combined with the HYLAS 2, will bring over 100 GB of capacity to the continent.

 

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