Nigeria returned to space on Monday, December 19, 2011 when it launched the replacement satellite

for NigComSat 1 which got de-orbited in 2008. At an interview session with ICT correspondents, Mr  Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, MD/CEO, Nigeria Satellite Communications Ltd (NIGCOMSAT) said insurance gave Nigeria NigComSat 1R for free, among others. Oluwaseun Ayantokun was there.

NigComSat 1 R has been launched, what is next now and when will commercial activity start off? 
NigComSat 1R was launched on December 19, 2011 and we were able to get to our orbited position on the 27th day of  December, 2011 at exactly 11 am. We are now sitting in our own orbit.

After that, on December 28, 2011 we commenced what we call ‘in orbited testing.’ This is a procedure carried out to test all the subsystems of the satellite. It’s like a patient presenting themselves for full medical check up. So, we test every single unit of the satellite and compare what its value was before launch. There is what we call SP3 test. This test is done when the satellite is fully completed in the laboratory and the results are known. By the time you launch into orbit you also carry out a full test and compare with what you have got on the ground. This is done within a month or a month and a half. So, we’ve commenced that since the 28th of last month(December). This will be done to the end of January, 2012.

So, by the special grace of God, the results we are having up till date are very good. They agree with what we expected, and in some cases, even better. When the test is completed, the manufacturer and the insurance company will formally deliver the satellite to NIGCOMSAT.  You call those performance characteristics. So, we’re doing this measurement and I’m happy to tell you that all this measurement of details is going on at Lugbe, Abuja . NigComSat 1 was controlled from China. As at that time, our engineers were learning under the Chinese the art of station keeping, that is, how to control the satellite. We were about taking over when it got de-orbited. Now, NigComSat 1R is fully controlled from Nigeria, because we now have the capacity to man and control the satellite, even though for first one year we are still having a few of the technical partners around to always verify what we want to do and okay it. At the end of January when the on-going tests are completed, we will commence full commercial service.

What is your level of preparedness for marketing NigComSat 1R? 
Most government agencies and those that tasted NigComSat 1 and knew what it was are ready to patronise us. The strategy we’ve been keeping to our chest is to sell satellite-based solutions. I mean solutions coming from a home-grown institution. He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. We’re the only satellite operator in the sub-Saharan Africa and we’re the only Nigerian company there. Also, we have a satellite that is specifically designed for Nigeria and for Africa. That is why we said NigComSat is rooted in Africa but globally positioned. So, most of our customers know that we were coming back and have been waiting for us.

Also, we are almost concluding discussion with a new customer based in Canada. The company is championed by some Nigerians with some Canadian partners. They are ready to pay $8 million but I’m asking for $2million more to sign them on. NTA, NIPOST, the military, the police and some ISPs are already queuing up to be signed on.

Secondly, the satellite covers 40 African countries. As I’m talking to you, we have requests from Ghana for two transponders. We have a market in Sierra Leone, Congo Brazzaville, Angola up to South Africa. In fact, leaving Africa to Europe, we have coverage in six European countries, in the heart of Europe, including the UK, France, and Germany. In Asia, we have will also have a market. We have pre-sale for Ku, and the China-Nigeria bin, which is an introduction on NigComSat 1R. So, we have market from China up to Pakistan. This is a new introduction and new improvement on NigComSat 1. With NigComSat 1, we had no content but now we’re in  partnership with Main One to take IP from the point of presence in Lagos to the satellite. So now, we’re complementing the efforts of Main One such that by the end of January, we’ll be commissioning the IP upping to the satellite. So, a Nigerian ISP (Internet Service Provider) can stay here and also sell Internet VSAT services to homes all over Africa and earn foreign exchange. That is why I said we’re going to sell solutions. At NIGCOMSAT, we’re going to sell end to end solutions. If a bank comes up to us for a VPN (virtual private network), there will be no problem because we have capacity to deliver solutions to them.

How does the government benefit? 
We’re going to be the backbone for e-government. This is government to government, government to business(and vice versa) and government to citizens (and vice versa) communications. Galaxy Backbone, the company that has the responsibility of for government communication infrastructure will rely heavily on NigComSat 1R to deploy seamless communication among government institutions for the purpose of sharing information among the government and the citizenry. This means more for online registration for examinations, and walking distances to do online registration will soon become a thing of the past. Government agencies will be linked with broadband Internet. That is surfing without tears. This will enhance accessibility to information as at when needed. This will in turn help the decision making process of the government.

How far can tele-education and e-learning go with this development? 
This is an area where NIGCOMSAT is going to bring the original benefit of the satellite to the ordinary man on the street. The ordinary people of Nigeria , especially those in the rural areas are going to benefit from this.

Health is another area through which their lives will be touched. In education, our intervention will be two-fold: first, it will be in conjunction with educational institutions and the USPF. About 78 Nigerian institutions of higher learning will be connected to the e-library project being put up: this is going to be anchored on NigComSat 1R. The contract for this is already out: before June 2012, all these institutions will have e-library, thus making study materials available to students of these tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria . We have calculated the total transponders that will be responsible for this, it is 47mg per second. That is almost one and a half of NigComSat 1R’s transponders. We’re playing a leading role here.

Secondly, we’re doing what we call LEAP 774. This is a high level skill acquisition in software engineering. It means Learning for Empowering in the Area of Software Programming. We’ll do this by setting up micro ICT parks in all local government areas in the country, and hotspots. School leavers will be taught how to write applications from the developmental level to the level of an expert. So, our target is to train about 1.9 million Nigerians in the next five years. The pilot phase will be one park per state. This is planting a seed of transformation when you have with knowledge, skill and experience. With that, we’ll be able to create a knowledge-based economy. We’ll not only stop capital flight through software importation, which is about $500 million annually, but also be able to produce enough applications for all spheres of our economy and even export applications to earn foreign exchange. For instance, India makes $50 billion annually from software alone with hundreds of thousands employed in the industry in that country. Tata Group alone has over 70,000 in its employ in Bangalore. So, we believe we can by so doing create massive employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

At what cost is this NigComSat 1R? 
At no cost: because NigComSat 1 was fully insured. It is an insurance replacement. So, it is at zero cost to Nigeria .

With a lot anchored on the satellite, what back up plans do you have in case of any accident? 
The government is already on that and very soon you will know when it is going to be launched. Two more satellites will be launched. One of them is a communication satellite that will serve as a back up to NigComSat 1R.