{"id":57491,"date":"2021-05-22T01:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T17:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/telcos-say-relations-with-satellite-providers-strained-by-high-prices-value-chain-confusion-2\/"},"modified":"2021-05-22T01:00:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T17:00:30","slug":"telcos-say-relations-with-satellite-providers-strained-by-high-prices-value-chain-confusion-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/telcos-say-relations-with-satellite-providers-strained-by-high-prices-value-chain-confusion-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Telcos Say Relations With Satellite Providers Strained by High Prices, Value Chain Confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Executive leaders from four regional telco and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) did not pull any punches when discussing their sometimes frustrating relationship with satellite service providers during SATELLITE 2021\u2019s EMEA + Asia virtual conference on Wednesday, May 19. <\/p>\n<p>While telco\/MNO panelists expressed excitement for new satellite technologies and services, especially in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), they also shared concerns about satellite industry value chain issues that they believe are driving up the costs of bandwidth.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/g8OKuSSGuiL64al7Cfdw_EMEA20Digital20Show20Daily-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/g8OKuSSGuiL64al7Cfdw_EMEA20Digital20Show20Daily-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/g8OKuSSGuiL64al7Cfdw_EMEA20Digital20Show20Daily-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/g8OKuSSGuiL64al7Cfdw_EMEA20Digital20Show20Daily-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/g8OKuSSGuiL64al7Cfdw_EMEA20Digital20Show20Daily.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2021 EMEA\/Asia Digital Forum Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<p>Safaricom Transport and IP Planning lead David Adhiambo best explained what\u2019s at stake for satellite operators in maintaining good relationships with telcos. If satellite operators are genuine about reaching the billions of unconnected customers on the other side of the digital divide, they need to provide regional telcos with large amounts of bandwidth at low costs, according to Adhiambo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTelcos have always characterized the satellite industry by very high costs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe nature of partnerships with satellite operators is naturally long-term because of how difficult it is for telcos like us to switch providers. Historically, this has locked us into high costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adhiambo sees the entrance of new satellite systems in LEO and Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), as a big opportunity for African telcos to finally overcome their years-long struggle to penetrate services deep into rural Africa, where connectivity is needed most. \u201cBefore these new LEO and MEO systems, backhaul was very limited for us in the Africa region. In most cases, we were only able to provide voice services. Now, we see the potential to incorporate new satellite services to meet the demands of customers that are hungry for the next-gen data 3G, 4G and 5G applications that they see around the world. Safaricom can only realistically reach those customers if we get competitive rates on bandwidth that will reduce our cost of carry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a72d390f068c;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a72d390f068c = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a72d390f068d').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a72d390f068d'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rakesh Kukreja, managing director of iSAT Africa, joined the consensus reached by fellow panelists by stating that telcos need to see better pricing from satellite service providers. He believes that the satellite industry can lower prices by clearing up confusion along its value chain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a time when the satellite industry ecosystem of satellite operators, service providers, equipment manufacturers, integrators, and installers were all in sync with each other,\u201d said Kukreja, referring to a time when the satellite industry was much smaller. \u201cAs connectivity markets evolve, that synchronization seems to have disappeared. Each segment of the satellite value chain has different ideas of how to serve today\u2019s market. Not being on the same page creates overlap, which kills innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aurelien Vigano, vice president of International Transmission Networks for arguably one of the satellite industry\u2019s largest customers, Orange Business Services, said that the relationship between telcos and satellite operators has never been more important to the future of connectivity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe feel like we have a very close relationship to satellite operators, which makes it even more frustrating when you see that their manufacturers and equipment providers aren\u2019t always on the same page in terms of how to best serve us, the customer,\u201d said Vigano. \u201cWith some satellite operators, the problem seems to be confusion about the identity of their own businesses. Some aren\u2019t sure whether or not they\u2019re competing with us or partnering with us. It\u2019s hard to build win-win relationships in that kind of setting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liquid Telecom Managing Executive Scott Mumford, like his peers, agreed that partnerships with satellite operators are essential to bridging the world\u2019s still vast digital divide. His frustrations with forming productive partnerships with satellite providers stem from high terminal costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe satellite industry\u2019s lack of movement toward an open standards base for terminal equipment is very frustrating for me,\u201d said Mumford. \u201cThe continued development around proprietary systems, especially in the VSAT [Very Small Aperture Terminal] arena, is a real issue. That keeps price points high from a terminal perspective, and prevents us from reaching the distribution numbers we need to be profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mumford is not alone in his views on open terminal standards. SES Executive Vice President of Technology Stewart Sanders recently told <em>Via Satellite<\/em> that the operator is working to connect data centers with its O3b mPOWER platform by leveraging open standards such as ONAP that are more common in the terrestrial world.<\/p>\n<p>Liquid Telecom is currently partnered with Intelsat to connect more than 2,000 additional VSAT terminals in Africa that were supplied by terminal manufacturer Kymeta.<\/p>\n<p>The telco\/MNO leaders do express hope in some of the new business models and approaches they are seeing from LEO and MEO constellations and in Geostationary (GEO) operators who are realizing that their services are a \u201cnatural complement\u201d to Non-Geostationary (NGSO) services in a hybrid network.<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a72d390f0bb2;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a72d390f0bb2 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a72d390f0bb3').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a72d390f0bb3'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased by the rapid progress being made by the LEO constellation operators,\u201d said Orange\u2019s Vigano. \u201cWhen it comes to using satellites to bridge the digital divide, there is no \u2018one-size-fits-all\u2019 solution. The more options we have, the better. The more capacity that\u2019s available at more competitive rates, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Safaricom\u2019s Adhiambo thinks opportunities for partnerships between telcos and LEO and MEO operators can extend beyond just consumer markets. He said Safaricom would optimally want to create a completely convergent satellite and terrestrial network for all markets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy advice to the NGSO constellation operators is \u2014 when you come to do business with us in Africa, don\u2019t come in with the mentality of wanting to compete with existing telcos in the overall connectivity space,\u201d warned Adhiambo.  \u201cRather, try to work to meet the unique needs of all prolific telcos to complement all of their systems. The only way we\u2019re going to be able to bridge the digital divide and create a win-win situation for satellite and telco operator is by being flexible, genuine, and clear in our understanding of each other\u2019s need.\u201d <strong>VS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 517:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/qBjYW5wWS4WEi6Tx9vER_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.4620AM-300x121.png\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/qBjYW5wWS4WEi6Tx9vER_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.4620AM-300x121.png 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/qBjYW5wWS4WEi6Tx9vER_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.4620AM-800x323.png 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/qBjYW5wWS4WEi6Tx9vER_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.4620AM-640x259.png 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/qBjYW5wWS4WEi6Tx9vER_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.4620AM.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tAfrican Space Leaders: Unified Policy, Existing Infrastructure Boosts the Region\u2019s Bargaining Power<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 514:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"136\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pK8PlIs1QMVC2Aqb2trQ_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.27.5920AM-300x136.png\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pK8PlIs1QMVC2Aqb2trQ_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.27.5920AM-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pK8PlIs1QMVC2Aqb2trQ_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.27.5920AM-800x362.png 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pK8PlIs1QMVC2Aqb2trQ_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.27.5920AM-640x290.png 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/pK8PlIs1QMVC2Aqb2trQ_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.27.5920AM.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tEuropean Commission LEO Initiative Begins to Take Shape<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 515:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"154\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/UBuOqRxlSLSq2H9gsEsh_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.29.2320AM-300x154.png\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/UBuOqRxlSLSq2H9gsEsh_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.29.2320AM-300x154.png 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/UBuOqRxlSLSq2H9gsEsh_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.29.2320AM-800x410.png 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/UBuOqRxlSLSq2H9gsEsh_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.29.2320AM-640x328.png 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/UBuOqRxlSLSq2H9gsEsh_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.29.2320AM.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tIn Rare Gathering, Asia\u2019s Leading Satellite Executives Outline Future CapEx Plans<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 516:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"122\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/SkYVlDrQkei0QgmwPe7w_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.1420AM-300x122.png\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/SkYVlDrQkei0QgmwPe7w_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.1420AM-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/SkYVlDrQkei0QgmwPe7w_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.1420AM-800x324.png 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/SkYVlDrQkei0QgmwPe7w_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.1420AM-640x260.png 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/SkYVlDrQkei0QgmwPe7w_Screen20Shot202021-05-2120at2011.31.1420AM.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tIncreased Customer Expectations are at the Heart of Satellite\u2019s Mobility Debate<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Executive leaders from four regional telco and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) did not pull any punches when discussing their sometimes frustrating relationship with satellite service providers during SATELLITE 2021\u2019s EMEA + Asia virtual conference on Wednesday, May 19. While telco\/MNO panelists expressed excitement for new satellite technologies and services, especially in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}