Exploring Qatar’s Satellite Ambitions

By Ali Al Kuwari is President & CEO of Es’hailSat.

The ‘State of the Satellite Industry Report’ about a decade ago predicted global industry revenues for 2013 as $189bn. The same report, in its 2023 edition estimates the global industry to be worth about $386bn annually. For an industry that has been carefully regulated and closely tracked by governments around the world, the last decade of nearly doubling annual revenues is a stellar achievement. While a large part of this growth is attributable to the private sector, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations and the emergence of the NewSpace industry, there has been an acceptance of traditional satellite communication services as the medium of choice when it comes to connecting the unconnected. This could be direct to the consumer via satellite broadband, extending the reach of 3G, 4G and 5G networks via cellular backhaul or the connectivity onboard aircraft and maritime vessels.

As with any satellite service, the primary objective is to provide critical communications infrastructure, wherever and whenever it is required. Best practices include end-to-end service delivery with high levels of availability. This is further augmented by secure and reliable connectivity across both fixed ground networks and land mobile, maritime and aviation sectors. Mid to long term, mobility services be it on land, maritime or aviation, and Internet-of-things will utilise satellites as the critical infrastructure for connectivity.

The Middle East and North Africa have tremendous potential for expanding connectivity services given the unique challenges faced by the region. While fiber continues to reach the shores of various countries in Africa, getting the same connectivity inland and overcoming the challenges on-the-ground is a different story altogether. Given the remote and sparsely populated areas across MENA, and difficult terrain within this region, at present fiber connectivity is largely within and between the major cities. It will remain this way for some time as service providers struggle to find the right balance between expending high CAPEX and providing connectivity to the remote areas. While the industry can do a lot more, the pace of broadband growth in MENA has been quite encouraging. The deployment of 4G and 5G infrastructure has been critical to developing low-cost wireless broadband in MENA. Furthermore, the arrival of both high throughput satellites and fiber-to-the-home has reduced the cost per Gigabyte of data consumed, as every household and workplace continue to consume more data with every passing day.

At this point, the global satellite industry is in a state of flux with multiple non-GEO constellations at various stages of their development and launch, many of them looking to provide global broadband connectivity. LEO systems are relatively young and unproven which makes the recent gold rush of announcing constellations a trend that we believe needs to be approached with cautious optimism. A lot needs to be done before these systems become integrated into the 5G eco-system and the sheer volume of capital & technology advancements required make it an uphill climb for the companies involved.

The growth potential of the MENA region also brings with it a unique set of challenges that one must face when providing services to the region. First would be piracy as content protection is still a concern for the region. Although majority of the large piracy incidents have been addressed and discontinued, there is still online piracy of content. A consolidated effort is required on the part of the satellite & media industry and local governments to address this issue. Then there are always price pressures when it comes to satellite capacity, services, and equipment. This has come to the forefront in the last few months, with supply chain issues causing delivery delays and further delaying implementation, service roll out etc.

The world is heading towards economies driven by artificial intelligence, neural networks, and the Internet of Things, all of which can only be enabled by robust telecommunications and IT infrastructure. Therefore, it is critical for these sectors, including satellite services, to build a culture of innovation and continuous development to be able to cater to these demands. With Qatar becoming a powerhouse of talent and technological prowess in the Middle East, advanced satellite services will help ensure that the economy of the country has the tools that it needs to grow from strength to strength.

Within the MENA region, Qatar’s space ambitions have developed based on a combination of media & telecommunication industry growth and the need for self-reliance in all areas. The domestic workforce in Qatar is one of the most connected in the MENA region and perhaps in the world as well owing to the high teledensity built over the past many years. Today’s technology-driven economy demands that people should have the tools necessary to remain connected anywhere, at any time and using any device of their choice. This involves infrastructure on the ground, as well as in space.

Qatar’s National Vision 2030 is designed to move the country from a carbon-based to a knowledge-based economy and Es’hailSat is a key part of that vision. The last few years have witnessed exponential growth in data traffic across telecommunication networks. We are also starting to see a true convergence of networks, be it fiber, cellular or satellite – as companies across technologies realise that their combined capabilities are more complementary than competitive. With the advent of Direct-to-Device satellite technology, high throughput non-GEO constellations and the widespread adoption of Internet of Things, the next decade should witness the growth of ubiquitous connectivity that is not limited by the backhaul medium. The challenges now lie in the areas of cybersecurity, data privacy and sustainable growth of such networks.

Es’hailSat’s satellites are a symbol of Qatar’s commitment to free, secure, and independent communication and events such as the AFC, FIFA World Cup and others are the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities. Beyond upgrading networks from 4G to 5G and beyond, it is important to ensure that the human capital in the ICT sector is trained regularly and their technology & soft skills are also upgraded to meet the demands of the next decade of growth in line with the country’s vision. We are working on multiple long-term projects to fulfil the company’s vision of being a world class satellite operator and service provider that effectively contributes to the success of this vision. Our plans are to continually upgrade our capabilities in terms of our teleport, ground segment and managed services to be able to leverage our young fleet in orbit today.

Qatar’s National Vision 2030 relies on the four pillars of development across Human, Social, Economic and Environmental aspects. Es’hailSat continues to engage with educational institutions across Qatar, at various levels ranging from schools to universities, in order to share the knowledge that we have garnered and develop the next generation of engineering, science & technology professionals. For Es’hailSat’s business, the priority over the next 12 months is expanding services to support the rapid growth of Qatari customers across the board.