Telecom
Adopting GEO’S HTS Digital Payloads into SSFFs for Low Latency LEOs to Drive 5G Expectations
By Andrew Aroh
Major satellite manufacturers are now set to create a new NGSO [Non-Geosynchronous] satellite constellation for low latency broadband services using HIGH DATA RATE [HDR] V- band.
Their rational for building and operating a LEO constellation stems from the frequently cited implacable rise in connectivity needs around the world requiring low latency.
Between rising commercial demand and government driven universal broadband service obligations, the companies expects satellite could play a major role.
It really comes down to the insatiable demand for bandwidth that we see in the marketplace. The amount of bits being required by all of us is growing on the order of 20-something percent a year, and in order to meet that demand there are certain areas where satellite has advantages over terrestrial approaches.
Customers lack choice in the broadband provider options especially in remote and rural areas, meaning there is room for more satellite broadband players to compete, providing ubiquity.
On the technology side, the manufacturer would want to taking its digital play load technology for its GEO system and putting into a small satellite form factor [SSFF].
This is because there is a definite advantage in applying them to the V-band NGSO system. The digital payloads are scalable and can be sized up or down as needed. Typically a sixth generation digital payload for HTS [High throughput satellite] can be equipped with the seventh generation that has twice the capacity of generation six.
The new trend is to shorten development cycles of satellite and make sure the next generation capabilities are brought up quickly and not have these long developments cycles that have been in the past.
The process involves continuous miniaturization in order to fit more transistors on integrated circuits [ICs] or essentially bringing Moore’s law to bear in space. This could dovetail well with the manufacturer’s LEO ambitions, as satellites in this orbit typically have shorter life spans and therefore requires less radiation hardening compared to 15years geostationary satellites.
On the spectrum front, the constellation could downlink information in the 37.5 to 40.0 GHz band on a shared access basis with the proposed upper microwave flexible use [UMFU] service, adopting exclusion zones or out-of-band emission limits. In the filing, the uplink spectrum, for fixed satellite services [FSS] could be in the 50.4 to 51.4 GHz and 51.4 to52.4 GHz bands.
The uplink spectrum will help create a five [5] Gigahertz block of uplink spectrum, paired with FSS downlink spectrum in the 37.5 to 42.5 GHz band, enabling very high-data-rate [HDR] V-band satellite broadband services in the near future.
Recall that a rejoinder to WRC-19 has shown that seven system characteristics are vital for essential communications operations of NGNs for 5G: Coverage, Capacity, Protection, Security, Access [user plane] & Control [control plane], Interoperability, Flexibility/Scalability, and Quality-of-Service [QoS].
33GPP release 14 looked into satellite deployment scenarios.
3GPP release 15 defined the architecture and supports the deployment of application functions, as required for MEC [Mobile or Multi-Access Edge Computing].
3GPP Release 16 leads a study to identify use cases for provision of services with satellite integrated into the 5G system.
These specifications will also trickle down to satellite, including the search for lower latency solutions with many use-cases involving applications deployed at the edge of the network.
5G will lead to a huge shift towards a landscape dominated by wireless connectivity.
However, 5G is accompanied with deployment of architectures: Fiber [+] Terrestrial Wireless [+] satellite, leveraging network function virtualization [NFV] and software defined networking [SDN] both at the core and edge of the Network. Management of the NFV infrastructure will be performed through a Management and Orchestration. [MANO] Framework: This architecture allows easy integration of multiple applications.
A virtual evolved packet core [vEPC] application would extend local call switching possibility.
MEC Platform could host different applications like caching and multicast which can help reduce latency and improve quality-of-experience [QoE] for the user.
5G is a technology that will push the boundaries of throughput and capacity further beyond that of 4G to enable newer types of applications and services in the domains of: Health, Transport [Land, Air, and Sea], Entertainment, M2M, Security, etc. They will provide increased computing power, scalability, reduced operating costs and business models to enable differentiation. 5G will enable instantaneous connectivity to billions of devices, the internet of things [IoT] and a truly connected world-smart city, homes and schools, etc.
In general, testing campaign confirms that LEO provides superior fiber-like performance for high-end satellite services.
The ability to demonstrate fiber-like performance via satellite across a number of applications that perform poorly on GEO satellite backhaul is a testament to the capabilities of LEO network for 5G.
With its high-throughput links, ultra-low latency, and disruptive economics, LEO constellations offer an unparallel value proposition to expand the reach of 4G and 5G networks:
Testing scenarios included:
- High definition video streaming without interruption
- Video conference with teams demonstrating consistent flexibility of movement and voice transmission with user experience matching terrestrial and cellular connections
- Remote desktop connection to seamlessly manage a remote computer
- VPN connection without any delay or outages
- FTP encrypted file transfers of 2GB in both directions
- IPSec tuned encryption with no reduction in the performance of the link.
As satellite professionals plan, design and build offerings to provide best-in-class connectivity for 5G customers, we are eager to explore how cutting-edge technologies like new LEO constellations can integrate with global connectivity infrastructure across every application to deliver an outstanding performance with significant improvement over what we can achieve via GEO satellites today.
However, to get super-high, multi-gigabit speeds, carriers are turning to newer, much higher frequencies known as millimeter wave [mmW]: 3.0-0.3mm
So what do we expect? :
5G networks need to be much smarter than previous systems, as they are juggling many smaller cells than can change size and shape.
5G will be able to boost capacity by four times over current systems by leveraging wider bandwidths and advanced antenna technologies. [Multibeam with MIMO]
The goal is to have far higher speeds available and far higher capacity per sector, at far lower latency than 4G.
The standards bodies involved are aiming at 20Gbps speeds and 1ms latency, at which point very interesting things begin to happen.
5G home internet shows one major advantage over 4G: Huge Capacity.
Carriers can’t offer competitively priced 4G home internet because there just isn’t enough capacity on 4G cell sites for the 200GB of monthly usage most homes now expect.
5G could really increase home internet competition where 50 percent of Nigerians only have one option for 20Mbps or higher home internet service.
In the USA, a carrier, like Verizon says its 5G service will be truly unlimited.
5G home internet is also much easier for carriers to roll out than house-to-house fiber optic lines. Rather than digging up every street, carriers just have to install fiber optics to a Cell Site Or Access Point every few blocks, and then give consumers wireless modems. Most carriers now know that 5G wireless will give it much broader coverage than its fiber optic FiOS service.
Hence, satellite’s LEO constellations will offer carriers the required direct-to-home [DTH] internet service with the high bandwidth, low latency, or low-power-low cost aspects of 5G.
The small cells aspect of 5G [Both for cellular and satellite networks – since both technology uses cells with the antennas] may also help with in-building coverage, as it encourages every home router to become a cell site or access point.
Dedicated in-building and home systems that connect mobile users and wireless devices to the main core network are required for one-hop direct-to-home [DTH] internet Access/connectivity via satellite.
The core network is the mobile exchange and data network that manages all of the mobile voice, data and internet connections.
For 5G, the core network has been redesigned to better integrate with the internet and cloud based services and also includes distributed servers across the network improving response time [reducing latency].
It is the core network that manages many of the advanced features of 5G, including network function virtualization and network slicing for different applications and services.
With LEO Broadband constellations, Smart Beam Forming for Direct LEO Satellite Access of Future IoT will increase SATCOM offerings.
Andrew Aroh is President SSPI Nigeria
MTN Nigeria has taken legal action against more than 20 banks as it intensifies efforts to recover nearly ₦6 billion in interconnect debt from SleekChip Technologies Limited, a licensed international direct access and transit service provider.
Karl Toriola, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria
This move comes on the back of a court judgment awarding the telecom giant the right to reclaim funds owed through garnishee proceedings.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in November 2024 that SleekChip must pay MTN $1.97 million—or its naira equivalent at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate at the time.
The court also granted interest on the debt at a rate 2% above the Nigerian Interbank Offer Rate, backdated to January 31, 2022, until full repayment is made.
At the heart of the dispute lies a 2019 interconnection agreement between MTN and SleekChip, which permitted the exchange of calls and messages between their networks.
MTN alleged that from January to October 2022, SleekChip accumulated significant unpaid charges.
Despite repeated demand notices and a formal acknowledgment of debt by SleekChip in May 2023, no repayment was made.
With the judgment in hand, MTN has proceeded to enforce it by seeking court orders to freeze and seize SleekChip’s funds held across Nigerian banks.
The telecom operator pegged the naira value of the judgment debt at over ₦3.28 billion based on the exchange rate of ₦1,665.84 to the dollar as of November 7, 2024, with interest claims pushing the amount beyond ₦5 billion.
Court records show that on May 16, 2025, representatives from MTN and several banks appeared before Justice Lifu.
MTN submitted that most banks had filed affidavits disclosing the status of any accounts held by SleekChip.
The court subsequently discharged over 10 banks that confirmed they had no financial ties to the debtor.
Some banks raised objections to MTN’s request to extend searches using the debtor’s BVN, arguing that the court had issued no such order. The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 26, 2025, to continue the garnishee proceedings.
This case adds to a growing list of MTN’s debt recovery efforts across Nigeria’s telecom sector. In 2023, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved MTN’s request to disconnect several service providers over similar unpaid interconnect charges—including SleekChip and Exchange Telecommunications.
The ongoing legal enforcement signals MTN’s strategic shift toward reclaiming debts through court-backed recovery rather than relying solely on regulatory pressure.
With mounting operational costs and network expansion demands, telecom operators are becoming less tolerant of defaults, especially in interconnect fee obligations.
Africa has launched its first continental space agency to enhance Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more challenging global environment is restricting access to climate and weather information.
The African Space Agency was inaugurated last month under the African Union’s umbrella and is based in Cairo.
Currently in the process of establishment and recruiting key personnel, the agency will oversee coordination of existing national space programs.
Its goal is to strengthen the continent’s space infrastructure by deploying satellites, installing weather stations, and ensuring data sharing across Africa and beyond.
“Space activities across the continent have been very fragmented,” explained Meshack Kinyua, a space engineer and experienced African space policy expert who now leads capacity-building at the agency.
“The African Space Agency introduces a coordination framework and economies of scale — it places all African Union members on an equal footing regarding access to gathered data based on their needs.”
Africa is the poorest continent globally, and its people are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather events worsened by climate change, despite contributing far less to global warming than those in developed nations.
The absence of high-resolution weather and climate data hinders governments from warning citizens about approaching extreme weather, and scientists cannot accurately forecast long-term trends because their models lack detailed data.
The African Space Agency represents a move toward changing this, Kinyua said.
The agency also seeks to expand some successful projects across the continent, such as early warning systems for fishermen in West Africa and the Congo River Basin, he added.
Though long planned, the agency’s launch comes shortly after the Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which had been a major funder of various programs in Africa.
When 80% of USAID’s projects were canceled, initiatives like SERVIR—a joint effort by USAID, NASA, and space organizations in developing countries to address climate change, food security, and natural disasters—were among those affected.
“We need to ensure that African satellites can improve measurements and fill data gaps,” Kinyua stated.
“These gaps will always exist, so we must fill some ourselves and collaborate with other agencies.”
The African agency has already partnered with the European Space Agency to train experts and exchange knowledge, including in data processing and satellite construction.
In Europe, national space agencies share the costs of launching new Earth observation satellites, which can reach up to €800 million ($897 million), said Benjamin Koetz, head of the long-term action section at the European Space Agency. Countries also share the data gathered by these satellites.
“Not every country needs to invest in and build the same satellite,” Koetz explained.
Cairo launched Africa’s first satellite in 1998, and since then, over 20 African nations have established their own space agencies.
Eighteen of these countries have launched a combined total of 63 satellites.
The African Union plans to fund the African Space Agency on a project-by-project basis.
“Securing financial resources is a challenge because there is so much to accomplish, and our resources are limited,” Kinyua explained.
“However, we must take small steps before we can start running.”
Africa’s early space leaders — including Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa — took a considerable amount of time to establish their agencies and become operational because they had to begin from the ground up, noted Danielle Wood, an associate professor and director of the Space Enabled Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“It shouldn’t take that long anymore since many African countries now have space experience, and ideally, new countries can learn from existing examples and collaborate to move faster,” she added. “While other players like the US and Europe will pursue their own interests, the African Space Agency will remain focused on Africa, so it should support every country on the continent.”
Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has revealed that at least 68% of Nigerian women lack access to smartphones, a barrier that limits their participation in the digital economy and access to essential online services.
Tijani revealed this during a press briefing in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), observed every year on May 17th.
Represented by Adeyemo Olugbenga, Director of the National Frequency Management Council Secretariat, Tijani emphasised that as Nigeria fast-tracks its digital transformation, it remains committed to inclusivity, ensuring that no one, particularly women and girls, is left behind.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to equipping 70% of Nigerian women and girls with advanced digital skills by 2027.
He also revealed that the government is collaborating with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, and private investors to offer grants and low-interest loans to women-led tech startups, supporting inclusive growth in the digital sector.
Represented by Adeyemo Olugbenga, Director of the National Frequency Management Council Secretariat, Tijani emphasised that the digital revolution can only be truly transformative if it is inclusive.
He stressed the importance of building a future where gender equality is not just an aspiration but a lived reality.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s progress in achieving 46.2% broadband penetration, he noted that the digital economy goes beyond infrastructure and innovation; it is ultimately about people.
He warned that when half the population continues to face barriers to access, skills, and leadership in technology, the nation is not only failing its women but also undermining its overall potential.
The Minister emphasized that achieving gender equality in the digital age cannot rest solely on the shoulders of government.
He urged the private sector to play a pivotal role by adopting gender-responsive hiring practices, investing in women-led tech hubs, and implementing workplace policies that empower women.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to inclusive digital growth, he noted that the ministry has launched several key programmes and initiatives aimed at fostering broad-based participation in the digital economy.
Among these is the National Gender Digital Inclusion Strategy (NGDIS) 2004–2077, designed to create safe online spaces for women and support their advancement in technology-driven sectors.
In terms of skills development, the minister pointed to the expansion of impactful programmes such as the 3 Million Technical Talents (MTT) initiative, the Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Research Scheme, Digital Nigeria, and efforts to strengthen local content and capacity.
Recognising the growing need for online safety, he added that the ministry is actively enhancing cybersecurity and anti-harassment frameworks to better protect women in digital spaces.
He also stressed the importance of challenging gender stereotypes by encouraging young girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education from an early age.
Tijanii called on civil society organisations and the media to amplify the achievements of women in tech and hold decision-makers accountable for inclusive policy implementation.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, “Gender Equality in Digital Transformation,” the minister described it as both timely and essential.
He warned that when women and girls are excluded from accessing technology, acquiring digital skills, or leading in tech sectors, it is not just their potential that is stifled—but the world’s.
The minister reaffirmed the significance of WTISD, which serves as a platform to raise global awareness about the transformative power of ICTs.
He noted that digital innovation, such as leveraging artificial intelligence to combat climate change and eradicate poverty, holds immense promise in addressing some of the world’s most urgent challenges.
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