Page 63 - SAMENA Trends - December 2023

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New Zealand Gives Starlink a Bye on Telecoms Fees

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission levy. Submissions on the Commission’s Commission increased Spark’s payment
finalized the amount each telecoms draft proposal from the country’s Internet from NZD3.4 million to NZD3.5 million, with
operator will pay to the government’s Service Providers Association and the the operator accounting for 31.1 per cent of
Telecommunications Development Levy Wireless Internet Service Providers industry revenue in fiscal 2022 to 2023. One
(TDL), which increased to NZD11.3 million Association called for Starlink to be NZ is liable for NZD2.7 million compared
($6.9 million) for the fiscal year ending classified as liable to be assessed for the with NZD2.6 million the previous year and
30 June 2023 from NZD10.5 million the levy and included in the final allocation of 2degrees NZD2.2 million (NZD2.1 million).
previous year. Spark, One New Zealand, payment. The Commission stated it would The funds are used to pay for infrastructure
Chorus and 2degrees will collectively pay engage with Starlink and others as part and services which are not commercially
about 87 per cent of the total levy, with of the fiscal 2023 to 2024 TDL process. viable, including a relay service for the
21 smaller companies responsible for the One NZ has an agreement with Starlink to hearing-impaired, broadband for rural areas
remainder. But the Commission declined to boost rural coverage using LEO satellites. and improvements to the 111-emergency
levy fees on Starlink, deciding it did not meet Spark and 2degrees are working with service.
the minimum annual revenue threshold of Lynk Global, which was also excluded
NZD10 million needed to be subject to the from the Commission’s assessment. The

Globalsat Group to add Rivada LEO Connectivity to Its Americas Coverage

Globalsat Group, a provider of mission- first satellite launch of Rivada's OuterNET infrastructure used to carry it in terms of
critical satellite and wireless connectivity is set for 2025, with global service starting latency, bandwidth, speed and security.
solutions is partnering with satellite in 2026. Globalsat is an industry leader Which, it seems, is where Rivada comes
network operator Rivada Space Networks in mobile and other satellite services, in. Rivada's global low-latency point-to-
to provide access to a next-generation providing specialized voice, data, M2M/ point connectivity network of 600 low
data network for customers in the energy, IoT, software, and hardware throughout the earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the OuterNET,
government, NGO, agriculture, utilities and Americas since 1999. Most customers use is described as a unique next-generation
transportation sectors throughout the its services where life or infrastructure are architecture combining inter-satellite laser
Americas and beyond. Rivada's OuterNET, at stake or in exceptional circumstances links with advanced onboard processing
as the forthcoming Rivada service is when or where other connectivity networks that provides unique routing and switching
known, will, say the partners, offer high- cannot operate reliably or at all. Globalsat capabilities to create an optical mesh
speed, low-latency and highly secure says increasing demand for resilient network in space. This approach to ‘orbital
connectivity with full global coverage. The connectivity is fast outpacing the current networking’, in which data stays in space
from origin to destination, is described as
creating an ultra-secure satellite network
with global coverage, offering end-to-
end latencies much lower than terrestrial
fibre over similar long distances. And by
routing traffic on a physically separated
network, it provides a layer of defence for
any organization that needs to securely
share data over a large distribution of sites.
Globalsat Group says it will add Rivada's
OuterNET seamless connectivity to its
diverse roster of mission-critical solutions,
as an option to ramp up performance
and increase customer efficiency. This
connectivity is particularly well suited
to remote geographic installation use
cases requiring real-time applications and
monitoring regardless of location, when
high bandwidth, reduced latency and
improved security are required.

63 DECEMBER 2023