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Push to Eliminate 'Digital Poverty' to Drive Demand for Satellite-Powered Broadband Connectivity Post Pandemic

Push to Eliminate 'Digital Poverty' to Drive Demand for Satellite-Powered Broadband Connectivity Post Pandemic Image Credit: SES

Having taken part in the AsiaTech x Singapore 2021 event that concluded successfully over a month ago, SES Networks, a global leader in broadband connectivity and end-to-end video services spoke to Tara Neal, Executive Editor of The Fast Mode on their participation and showcase highlights. Harsh Verma, Regional Sales Director for Fixed Data Networks at SES and John Huddle, Director of Business Development Asia for SES Video shared their predictions on the satellite connectivity market - including the impact of COVID-19, innovations in satellite connectivity such as the use of non-geostationary (NGSO) satellites, as well as measures operators can take to ensure service quality for OTT video streaming on satellite-powered broadband.

Tara: What are your Asia Tech x Singapore plans and what are your showcase themes? What are the key technologies you will be discussing?

SES is honoured to participate in this year’s Asia Tech x Singapore as a Bronze sponsor. Our overarching theme, A Connected Digital Future, puts the spotlight on satellite’s important role in bridging the digital divide and paving the way forward to a more inclusive future. Our unique GEO-MEO satellite constellation has already helped connect more businesses, communities and government institutions in more places, and allowed them to seamlessly deliver rich, linear and on-demand content, around the clock.

We hope to further reinforce how the convergence of satellite-enabled networks and the cloud can provide the reliable and secure connectivity our customers need to do all the above and more, as well as scale faster and more affordably than ever before.

We are very excited about showcasing our next-generation communications system, the O3b mPOWER, which will be fully operational by 2022. O3b mPOWER is built on the proven technology of our market-leading O3b MEO constellation - the industry’s first proven NGSO system. Once operational, it will deliver superior performance and unprecedented flexibility, allowing network operators to grow and adapt to ever-changing network requirements and thrive in future landscapes.  

In addition, we are also showcasing our hybrid TV platform, and how it will help broadcasters ease their operational workflows and lower costs, while enabling them to deliver even more content, reliably.

Tara: How has the last 18 months of pandemic impacted the demand for satellite-powered broadband connectivity?

Harsh Verma, Regional Sales Director, Fixed Data Networks, SES Networks

Harsh Verma, Regional Sales Director for Fixed Data Networks at SES, shares that the pandemic has emphasised the urgency of digital connectivity and highlighted the importance of digital inclusion for many governments in Asia.

Work from home and remote learning have become the new norm, and communities without reliable access to data or internet connectivity are vulnerable to being left behind. Social distancing and heighted security measures have also necessitated the deployment of e-government and e-health applications that leverage cloud connectivity. This makes it even more critical that every citizen, from the urban cities to the rural fringe, have the digital access they need to stay informed, engaged, and safe.

As a result, there’s been a ramping up of investments in digital infrastructure to boost connectivity and tackle ‘digital poverty’ in many countries. Multiple universal service obligation (USO) projects have been announced this year alone by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India, with SES as a key partner.

We faced more challenges than initially expected as we entered 2021. However, we can see that governments in Asia are firmly committed to digitalisation and extending broadband connectivity for the good of all citizens. We are proud to be actively supporting them on this journey.

Tara: How do operators ensure service quality for rich applications such as HD video streaming on satellite-powered broadband?

John Huddle, Director of Business Development Asia, SES Video

According to John Huddle, Director of Business Development Asia for SES Video, OTT video streaming generally uses unicast IP traffic. If poorly managed, video streaming over VSAT broadband systems can easily overwhelm the throughput and result in poor-quality streaming.

At SES, we understand the frustration of long buffering times and interrupted video streams. That’s why all our services are designed in close partnership with our customers to ensure that our satellites are fully leveraged to deliver the best possible bandwidths for their needs. We use advanced traffic shaping algorithms based on our customers’ priorities to ensure “fair use” of our satellites for optimal bandwidth efficiency, so they can deliver consistently high-quality video streaming experiences, whether in unicast or multicast, to their end users, wherever they are in the world.

Author

Executive Editor and Telecoms Strategist at The Fast Mode | 5G | IoT/M2M | Telecom Strategy | Mobile Service Innovations 

Tara Neal heads the strategy & editorial unit at The Fast Mode, focusing on latest technologies such as gigabit broadband, 5G, cloud-native networking, edge computing, virtualization, software-defined networking and network automation as well as broader telco segments such as IoT/M2M, CX, OTT services and network security. Tara holds a First Class Honours in BSc Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics, UK and is a CFA charterholder from the CFA Institute, United States. Tara has over 22 years of experience in technology and business strategy, and has earlier served as project director for technology and economic development projects in various management consulting firms.

Follow Tara Neal on Twitter @taraneal11, LinkedIn @taraneal11, Facebook or email her at tara.neal@thefastmode.com.

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