Page 69 - SAMENA Trends - February 2022

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

20-40Mbps and prioritized 24/7 support. One catch is that the new product isn’t due consumer plan’s range, may also make
In theory, the bigger antenna should also to launch until Q2 2022, and we don’t yet some potential customers nervous. One
reduce the chance of disconnection events, know exactly what its UK pricing will be. In other issue is that we’d normally expect an
which can sometimes cause problems on theory, this service could actually be quite expensive business tier to be backed up by
the existing kit. Starlink’s website makes handy if used to supply capacity for a small a Service Level Agreement (SLA) or other
clear that their PREMIUM package is being office network in a remote area, but it’ll only advanced features, but aside from priority
aimed at “small offices, storefronts, and really make any kind of sense if the new support, we couldn’t see anything like that
super users“, although at that price in the antenna does help it to perform noticeably mentioned on their website. In order to be
UK you might be better off shelling out better than the existing consumer tier. considered as a true business package,
for a leased line or helping to self-fund a The fact that the speed range starts at Starlink may need to go further.
community FTTP build – where viable. 150Mbps, which is well into the current

Lynk Global Inc. Signs Contracts with MNOs to Bring Satellite-Direct-To-

Phone Connectivity to Seven Pacific and Caribbean Island Nations

service solves the 0G connectivity problem
for residents of the islands of all these
nations, as well as the fishing villages
across vast regions. Lynk also provides
an ‘everyone everywhere emergency’ (EEE)
alert service, which notifies populations
ahead of natural disasters, while offering
Lynk Global, Inc. (Lynk), the world’s or no mobile phone connectivity with the instant backup after disasters hit. "Lynk's
leading satellite-direct-to-phone telecoms current terrestrial cell tower infrastructure. global commercial service is poised to
company, today announced that it has The Solomon Islands are spread over 1.6 launch later this year. We continue to add
signed multiple commercial contracts million kilometers and is the 22nd largest carriers as launch partners and anticipate
with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) maritime exclusive economic zone in more in the coming months," notes Charles
covering seven island nations in the Pacific the world. Over 75% of residents of the Miller, Lynk CEO. "0G, that is lack of any
and Caribbean, including with Telikom PNG Solomon Islands live outside urban areas, coverage, compromises people’s safety.
in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and bmobile in with 60% living in localities with fewer than The recent Tonga disaster shows just
the Solomon Islands. Lynk has seen a clear 200 people. "Mobile phone connectivity how important connectivity is for people’s
acceleration of contract signings with across land and sea continues to be a health and safety during a disaster. It is
island nations in response to the recent major priority for Papua New Guinea and not just volcanoes and tsunamis that we
disaster in Tonga. Islands create many our neighbor the Solomon Islands," says need to worry about … it is hurricanes,
difficult challenges for mobile connectivity, Amos Tepi, Acting CEO, Telikom PNG. "As earthquakes, fires, tornadoes and blizzards,
including hard to reach locations that drive our government continues to re-evaluate too. Today, Lynk is solving the 0G problem
up the cost of tower construction, exposure the infrastructure needed to keep our in seven island nations. Tomorrow, we
to the harsh maritime environment that people, including our fishermen, safe and will provide the ultimate safety net that
constantly degrades towers, increasing connected. The option to bypass mobile ensures everyone, everywhere in the world
maintenance costs, and reducing reliability, base stations is increasingly relevant to can access mobile connectivity, no matter
and populations that are dispersed across our communities especially in far flung what happens." Lynk’s most recent test
large geographies. Lynk's satellites offer a locations. Lynk's mobile phone connectivity satellite (its fifth prototype cell-tower-
constellation of cell towers in space that – through mobile base stations-in-space in-space) has completed all its major
will enable PNG and Solomon islands’ via a network of satellites – is ideally technical milestones. It has connected
subscribers to stay connected across suited to meet current and future demands thousands of unique devices across five
their nations’ vast terrain simply using of Papua New Guinea," he continues. different countries, (Bahamas, Canada,
their standard unmodified mobile phones. With these agreements, Lynk eliminates New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the
PNG has a land mass spanning more than much of the need to invest in land-based United States), enabling direct two-way
460,000 kilometers and a population of infrastructure and mobile towers for mobile connectivity between devices and Lynk’s
nine million residents of which more than connectivity throughout island nations. satellites.
80% are considered rural and have limited Lynk's satellite-direct-to-standard-phone

69 FEBRUARY 2022