NigComSat-1, a large geo-stationary satellite weighing 5,150 kg (11,350 lbs), which Nigerian Communications Satellite ltd, NigComSat ltd, owns was launched on 13 May, 2007. It was the first communications satellite from Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
It developed a solar array deployment assembly problem and de-orbited on 11 November, 2008.
A replacement, NigComSat-1R, was launched on 19 December, 2011 on the same orbital slot of 35,786 kilometres, 42.5 degrees east, on the plane of the Equator.
Both satellites were built by the China Academy of Space Technology, CAST, and launched by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation, CGWIC, with the Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province, China.
NigComSat-1 cost $340 million ( N40 billion) and was replaced at no cost by China.
NigComSat-1R being a geo-stationary satellite can cover one-third of the world. It is a hybrid satellite with 28 transponders in four bands: 14 Ku-band for television broadcasting, 8 Ka-band for internet, 4 C-band for the older format of broadcasting and 2 L-band for navigation communications.
It has footprints in 60 countries in West and Central Africa, parts of southern Africa, Europe and Asia.
It is an advantage is that the satellite is hybrid, but the disadvantage is that each band covers only one-twelveth of the world. For example, the C-band covers only West Africa.
However, the overall parameters are good:
Frequency is 12.518 Ghz,
Symbol rate 29.5 Msps,
Polarization is Horizontal,
Satellite Longitude 42.5 degrees East
and the Equipment Specification is 0.9 metre dish.
Nigerian Communications Satellite ltd, NigComSat ltd, advertised for a pre-qualification bid invitation for a High Throughput communications satellite on 15 March, 2021. The invitation covered the bid for design, manufacture, launch, in-orbit test and commissioning of the High Throughput communications satellite.
The High Throughput satellite is to join NigComSat-1R before its design life expires in 2025.
The closing date for the bid was 11 am, 6 April, 2021 and it was planned that the pre-qualification documents were to be opened immediately in NigComSat Ltd Auditorium, Abuja, in the presence of professional bodies, Civil Society Organisations and transparency and anti-corruption campaigners.
NigComSat ltd said shortlisted firms will be contacted at a later date for collection of Request for Proposals.
In line with world’s best practice, the then Managing Director, Dr Abimbola Alale, told Science World that “not much can be said until the process is concluded so that it is not compromised.”
High Throughput satellites are a new generation of satellites that offer up to 20 to 100 times the same amount of allocated orbital spectrum than conventional communications satellites.
This means that costs per Bit are reduced significantly with more bandwidth, better performance, high-speed broadband service to meet unprecedented data demands and options for frequency re-use.
Not much was heard about the bid and President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Tukur Mohammed Lawal Funtua in December, 2022, to replace Dr Alale after her second and final tenure.
She replaced the first MD, Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, who was appointed at the onset of the company in 2006, but was removed due to disagreement with the Governing Board before he completed his tenure.
On 11 October, 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen as Managing Director/CEO of Nigeria Communications Satellite ltd.
She is widely seen as qualified and experienced and has gone about re-positioning the company.
The design life of NigComSat-1R expires in 2025, but it may work for a short while after. A needed re-assuring replacement needs to be made.
Nilesat-101, weighing 1,666 kg (3,673 lbs) was launched on 28 April, 1998, as the first communications satellite in Africa. It had only 12 Ku-band transponders. Before it was de-commissioned in February, 2013, Nilesat 102 weighing 1,827 kg (4,028 lbs) also with 12 Ku-band transponders, was launched at a cost of $140 million on 17 August, 2000.
Also before Nilesat 102 was retired in June, 2018, Nilesat 201 was built at a cost of $237 million and launched on 4 August, 2010. It had 24 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band transponders.
There was Nilesat 103; it was not launched by Nilesat, but leased from Eutelsat.
It was launched on 27 February, 1998, with Ariane rocket in Kourou, French Guiana and operated for 17 years.
It operated on Longitude 13 degrees East as Hot Bird 4 from 1998 to 2005 for Eutelsat.
In September, 2005 Nilesat leased it from Eutelsat and it was moved to Longitude 7 degrees West (the longitude of all Nilesat satellites) in 2006 where it served from April 22 that year till 2009 as Nilesat 103.
There is Nilesat 301 which has a launch mass of 4,100 kg (9,000 lb), a design life of 15 years and 32 Ku-band and 6 Ka-band transponders. It was launched on 8 June, 2022.
The satellites provide high-speed data relay and television across the Middle East and Africa. Nilesat reported a revenue of $51.19 million from January to June, 2023, a 2.1% increase over $50.1 million in the same period the year before.
NigComSat was estimated to have made a revenue of N584 million from 2011 to 2014. In 2016, it spent N2.3 billion in payment of salary of its 397 members of staff.
Since then efforts have been made to increase the revenue base of the company, but this has not been easy.
Without a re-assuring redundancy in the system, its services are said to be too spread out and thin and uninviting to customers.
The task before the new management is therefore, seen as a tough one.
