SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) is pushing satellite innovation further to create new services and applications for customers.
The future of satellite service is described in the new White Paper “Satellite Evolution Sparks a Service Revolution”, published at SES Investor Days today. The White Paper focuses on the upcoming customer applications of new satellite technology, including Digital Signal Processing, satellite modularity, and satellite life extension services.
The White Paper states that the next generation of satellites will be flexible and adaptive, providing an improved customer experience and will be able to transmit thousands of Gigabits per second, multiplying on-board traffic by one or more orders of magnitude. Even further, the new satellites will operate simultaneously in broadcast and unicast mode, allowing data and video service to converge.
In conclusion the takeaway is that the vertical focus and the global size of SES are the key traits that allow it to look at distinct and dynamic markets through the future lens of technical innovation. In all areas, SES tunes its approach to focus on creating solutions that meet specific needs and have a global scalability. Applied with intelligence and precision, space innovations transcend market boundaries, push product developments, unleash unknown business possibilities, and ferment new markets. This is how SES is able to project products and solutions that have not existed before, and provide services many have not even dared to dream of.”
Read the full White Paper here.
Additionally, SES S.A. announced the results of their first Satellite Monitor study on the Nigerian market, which provides insight on the important role SES plays in the growth of the satellite television reach in the country.
The study highlights that SES reaches 2.81 million TV homes across the country, of which 1.69 million are reached directly by SES satellites—1.12 million cable TV homes are fed indirectly by the SES fleet. In total, there are 33.9 million TV homes in Nigeria, with 8.98 million of them being served by satellites directly and the rest by terrestrial and cable networks.
SES has increased their technical reach in sub-Saharan Africa from one million TV households in 2013 to eight million TV households by the end of 2015. The technical reach of 1.69 million TV households in Nigeria contributes to this increase.
The Satellite Monitor study is an annual market research study commissioned by SES and carried out by various independent institutes. The study has been conducted for over 20 years in Europe and has now been successfully replicated in Nigeria. Over 12,000 face-to-face interviews were conducted for this first of its kind study to be carried out by a satellite operator, in this case in a market where digitization is a key focus and a national priority.
The findings provide credible industry statistics on the market that can be used by other industry players to further understand the broadcasting industry landscape and the role of satellite infrastructure.
Eric Lecocq, General Manager of North, West and Central Africa at SES, said, “Nigeria is currently in the process of migrating from analogue to digital and, through the study, SES has established a market benchmark for the Nigerian TV viewing choices that will directly support the digital switchover and independently track the progress of the project. Going forward, this annual research will also enable us to start monitoring trends in the market.”