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Deployment of Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) in specific bands and services received boost at the 38th ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) with its adoption based on regulatory approach, reports ITREALMS.

The agreement reached at WRC-19 establishes regulatory procedures for the deployment of non-geostationary satellites, including mega-constellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The milestone-based approach will provide a regulatory mechanism to help ensure that ITU’s Master International Frequency Register reasonably reflects the actual deployment of such NGSO satellite systems in certain frequency bands and services. In defining more flexible timelines and objective criteria, this approach also seeks to strike a balance between the prevention of spectrum warehousing, the proper functioning of coordination mechanisms, and the operational requirements related to the deployment of NGSO systems.



While satellites in geostationary orbit are aligned with the earth’s rotation at an elevation of 36,000 km, NGSO satellites move across the sky during their orbit around the earth, in medium Earth-orbit 8,000 – 20,000 km above the earth and in low-Earth orbit at elevations between 400 and 2000 km.

With the availability of launch vehicles capable of supporting multiple satellite launches, mega-constellations consisting of hundreds or thousands of spacecraft are becoming a popular solution for global telecommunications, including to remote rural areas and isolated communities, providing low-latency broadband coverage (owing to their proximity to the earth’s surface), remote sensing, space and upper atmosphere research, meteorology, astronomy, technology demonstration and education.

Chuks Egbuna/DoP

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PIN delivers FoI to CommTech on Nigeria's ‘Eavesdropping’ satellites

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The Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) has submitted a letter to the office of the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu over the alleged eavesdropping capabilities of one of the two satellites being proposed by Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

According to PIN Director of Programmes, Tope Ogundipe, media report had stated that “inside sources at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) told Independent that one of the proposed satellites has eavesdropping capabilities.”

She also noted that the request was made in line with the objectives of PIN, hence “we call on the Federal Ministry of Communications to provide all the details involved in the building and launching of the two new satellites for the Nigerian government. As we have stated in the freedom of information request sent to the Ministry on February 2, 2017, the scaling up of the number of satellites in space may be noble but in order to ensure that this is done with utmost regard to digital rights of every Nigerian, every stakeholder, including the Ministry, must all act as watchdogs for our digital rights.”

Ogundipe equally pointed that even though there have been insinuations that these satellites are capable of eavesdropping on the communications of most Nigerian citizens when finally launched, PIN believes that the Ministry understands this to be an erosion on the fundamental human rights guaranteed by Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“With this belief, we are sure that these published allegations are just what they are and contain no truth,” she said.

Paradigm Initiative, she said, maintained its position of continuous monitoring of this development for new updates and ensure that a logical conclusion is reached on the matter. Noting that in the past 4 years, the organisation has used litigation to follow up on FoI requests that were not responded to.

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IFC invests $20m on Planet Labs’ doves for earth imagery

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International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $20 million (N3,971,000,000) in Planet Labs, a San Francisco-based company that deploys small, low-orbiting satellites to photograph remote and emerging parts of the world to help with disaster response, agriculture and urban planning, ITRealms reports.

IFC is a member of the World Bank Group with interest in Venture Capital thus providing equity financing to early and growth-stage companies across technology-focused sectors including consumer internet, resource efficiency, and healthcare and education technologies.

Planet Labs’ fleet of nano satellites, called “doves,” could be deployed in clusters to capture earth imagery faster and less expensively than traditional satellites, whose data-rich images are often inaccessible to communities and businesses in developing countries.

Nikunj Jinsi, Global Head of Venture Capital at IFC, informed ITRealms,“Satellite imagery is an important tool for economic development and disaster risk response, and Planet Labs’ data sets can help bridge the information gap many emerging markets now face. IFC’s investment will help ensure more companies and communities in developing countries have the information they need to grow in a smart and sustainable way.”

Up-to-date satellite imagery can inform strategic decisions about how to manage forests, water resources, coastal zones and farmlands, including choices about crop use. Planet Labs’ earth snapshots can also track pollution and enable fast, targeted responses to both man-made and natural disasters.

ITRealms learnt that IFC’s equity stake is part of a $118 million, about N23,428,900,000 fundraising effort for Planet Labs, which has also secured funds from Data Collective VC, DFJ, Capricorn Investment Group and others. Just as the proceeds will be used to finance manufacturing and deployment of satellites, ground stations and technical equipment, and to support business growth and sales.

Cyriacus Nnaji /GEE

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