The HYLAS 2 satellite launched on schedule and utilises Ka-band technology. The company claims this offers customers increased speeds and data output at lower costs. Avanti said traditional telecoms infrastructure is not proving commercially viable in large parts of emerging market economies and satellite is transforming how businesses and governments are accessing telecoms services.
“We have always believed there is huge opportunity for satellite communications services in emerging markets because growth for data and voice services is high whilst supply of telecoms network capacity is low,” said David Williams, chief executive at Avanti Communications. “Our satellite infrastructure is ubiquitous… this is very attractive to government and enterprise customers, particularly those working in oil, mining, agriculture, banking and security sectors.”
Williams also highlighted the opportunity that exists for the satellite provider in carrier services. “Our products are now cost effective enough to provide high quality backhaul and IP trunking to help telcos to improve the resilience and capacity of their networks.”
Avanti pointed to the issues of geographic scale, challenging terrain, security and access to financing as a further reason why satellite communications was proving a popular option in emerging markets.
Capacity’s cover story in September will focus on the continuing debate between satellite and fixed-line communications.
