Government has developed a national satellite strategy that will be presented to cabinet ministers soon.
One of the recommendations is that government should acquire and fully own its own geostationary satellite.
The department of communications & digital technologies and the department of science, technology & innovation have worked on the proposal together.
According to a joint presentation by representatives of both departments in a meeting of their respective parliamentary portfolio committees on Tuesday, it would take between five and seven years for South Africa to develop and put its own satellite into orbit.
There is a digital divide in South Africa that satellite can assist with, and that is because in some areas it is very costly to provide terrestrial connectivity, said Tinyiko Ngobeni, deputy director-general at the department of communications.
The satellite strategy will assist us in achieving our education and health objectives, particular in remote and rural areas.
We are also hoping it will contribute to the reduction of the cost to communicate due to the high cost of deploying high-speed connectivity in some areas.
Ngobeni said three options for the acquisition of satellite capacity are set out in the strategy document.
The first is a fully leased model, where government would pay fees to a private satellite service provider.
This option would provide the fastest time to market as there would be no infrastructure investment required from government.
Source: https://techcentral.co.za/south-africa-shoots-for-space/261705/
