VOA标准英语2013--Satellite Broadband Aims to Revolutionize African Development（在线收听）

Satellite Broadband Aims to Revolutionize African Development

Lift-off for the O3b - or "Other 3 Billion" - satellite system occurred last week in French Guiana. The system goes "live" later this year when eight satellites will enter a lower orbit to provide a faster connection.

Its backers include Google and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, among others.

Founder Greg Wyler said the "Other 3 Billion" are the people on the planet without access to fast Internet.

ﾡﾰThis will enable everybody, and it will be a cascading effect, but it enables everybody in these societies to become economically relevant to the rest of the world,ﾡﾱ he said.

Fast connection, pervasive coverage

The O3b satellites will provide Internet coverage anywhere within 45 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator.

Rival Inmarsat will launch a satellite Internet system called Global Xpress later this year.

Dele Meiji Fatunla, web editor for Britainﾡﾯs Royal African Society, said, ﾡﾰIn the rural areas I think it would have an impact on the way people can get information related to healthcare, information related to education.ﾡﾱ

In the Atlantic off west Africa, cable-laying ships completed the submarine West Africa Cable System last year. Sub-Saharan Africa alone has nine submarine cables, with a total capacity of 22 terabytes.

Fatunla said broadband boosts economic growth.

ﾡﾰI think a lot of small and medium enterprises would benefit from that," he said. "And it might also have a political impact in the sense that the Internet, if itﾡﾯs fairly open, will allow organizations and people to mobilize much more effectively.ﾡﾱ

Other pressing needs

But broadband by itself wonﾡﾯt revolutionize governance, said Charles Kenny of the Center for Global Development in Washington.

ﾡﾰIf government isnﾡﾯt picking up the phone, if you will, if government isnﾡﾯt answering the emails, just having a broadband connection isnﾡﾯt going to help,ﾡﾱ he said.

And when it comes to healthcare, said Kenny, government money would be better spent on basic needs.

ﾡﾰVaccines, bed nets, itﾡﾯs the very basic health interventions that are having a huge impact. Africa doesnﾡﾯt have many doctors; it doesnﾡﾯt matter if theyﾡﾯre all connected to broadband. So I think particularly where it comes to health, broadband may not be the ﾡﾮwiz-bangﾡﾯ solution,ﾡﾱ he said.

But Fatunla said broadbandﾡﾯs potential should not be underestimated.

ﾡﾰYou have to remember that thereﾡﾯs going to be a core of people who are active in societies in Africa, particularly civil society, who will benefit from there being better access to information," he said. "And I think those people will, in turn, be able to pressure government structures a lot more.ﾡﾱ

Analysts warn that even though the satellites and cables are connecting to Africa, the prices charged by Internet service providers on the ground need to be lower before broadbandﾡﾯs full potential is realized.