Luanda - The strategy for commercialisation of the capacity of ANGOSAT-2 is focused on competitive prices to boost business in totally disconnected regions, said Friday in Luanda the minister for Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Mass Media, Mário Oliveira.
Speaking at the ceremony to launch ANGOSAT-2 services, the minister highlighted that the strategy will increasingly contribute to reducing exclusion of information in Angola and the African continent.
Mário Oliveira said that, with ANGOSAT-2 in operation, operators would have a means of communication through satellites within their reach, thus allowing them to stop paying to rent capacity from foreign satellites.
He added that it will certainly also contribute to the increase of the telecommunication services in Angola by contributing to greater digital literacy and modernisation of the economy as a whole.
The official highlighted that the ANGOSAT-2 coverage includes all African continent, particularly in the Southern African Development Communities (SADC), which according to the minister there are 24 Ku-band beams and five C-band transponders.
Studies indicate that the countries, especially in Africa, that have invested in space programmes have reached very satisfactory levels in terms of increased internet coverage, mobile telephony and improved administrative and banking services.
“The ANGOSAT-2 satellite will allow national telecommunications operators and the government to benefit from bandwidth capacities, with costs based on national currency, helping to better manage investments and adjust them with the reality of the last user”, stressed the minister.
According to the minister, the ANGOSAT-2 satellite opens an opportunity for national telecommunications operators to provide services in the continent and part of southern Europe, taking advantage of the satellite´s coverage area.
He said that it represents an opportunity for entrepreneurship in telecommunication and information technology field by opening new opportunities to create job, especially for young people in the areas linked to space technology, for example, maintenance and installation of Very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) systems, also contributing to the development of a software industry in the country.
To the minister, in the African context investments in telecommunications are fundamental requirements for economic growth, and so satellite connectivity has been widely used as a factor to support social and economic development.
He stressed that the National Space Programme, of which ANGOSAT-2 is part, is aligned with the Agendas 2030 of the United Nations (UE), 2063 of the African Union and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Angolan communications ANGOSAT-2 satellite which is operating in geostationary orbit will provide services in the C, KU and KA bands.
The satellite, built by the Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (ISS Reshetnev) company, is made up of two modules, namely the Express 1000 platform and the payload, the latter being the responsibility of Airbus Defence and Space.
With an expected lifetime of 15 years, ANGOSAT-2, which was launched into orbit on October 12, 2022, is one of the projects of the National Space Programme Management Office (GGPEN), an agency of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Mass Communication.
