Satellites: wealth creators

I was recently reading that the Indian Space Research Organisation is in the process of developing a new Internet satellite that will provide connectivity to rural areas of India. This will be an incredible asset to the people of the country, many of whom are simply cut off from terrestrial communications with no access to the things that we take for granted as inhabitants of towns and cities, well-served by terrestrial communications. ISRO have also worked extensively on attempts to make connectivity easier for those in remote areas such as reducing the cost of satellite phone usage. Other organisations in regions such as Africa, the Middle East and China strive to bridge the so-called Digital Divide and to ensure that those who are without connectivity to basic services such as telephone and Internet, are given this gift. How are they achieving this? Through the use of satellite, that’s how.

The International Telecommunications Union is spearheading a global effort that is aiming to ‘Connect the Unconnected’ by 2015. In doing so, the ITU has engaged governments, industry, development banks, financial institutions and civil society to help meet its goal. It’s a very ambitious project but one that will change millions of communities and lives. Satellite is bound to play a key part.

So how can satellites create wealth? There are many, many regions of the world where terrestrial communications simply do not exist, isolating communities from the outside world as we know it. They are miles away from towns and cities with poor infrastructure and not enough disposable income to get to the nearest city to do business or to access educational establishments.

Often, when a young person does get the opportunity to leave their remote community to study or to earn money in an urban area, they are forced to leave the place of their birth and move away leaving an ageing population that must look after the young. Satellite, with its unique capabilities, can help to buck this trend by bringing connectivity to these remote areas.

Projects like the ones undertaken by the ITU and ISRO can introduce telecommunications and Internet connectivity to remote villages and therefore help the people to position themselves where they can become part of the global marketplace. The Internet offers an absolute wealth of information whether this is on farming techniques, business tuition, access to governmental documentation and advice or online educational services. The Internet enables people to make the most of their skills and to create small businesses that can sell goods either over the Internet or in local towns. It also heightens the community awareness about technology, how to use and maintain a computer and it also offers a cheap alternative method of communication in email or VoIP. With communications, a village will retain its young people for longer as they will be able to remain with their families and gain an education through distance learning. Farmers cannot only provide food for themselves and their community but can sell surplus and make money. Access to banking institutions is also possible so that a village can enter the global banking system and access loans and other financial services in order to improve their way of life. Centres of learning have been established in communities in Thailand, for example, where IPTV content is delivered by satellite to provide tuition to classes and even allowing pupil-teacher interaction though the use of satellite video conferencing. The possibilities are endless.

It is incredible to think that a satellite, so far away from the earth can hold such benefit for a remote community – but it can. Other services such as cellular backhaul are helping to connect the most remote areas of the planet. The satellite industry is playing a crucial role in working towards bridging the Digital Divide. The creation of wealth is a by-product of this access to communications and this new-found wealth will literally change people’s lives.

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