Já pensou como seria o mundo sem Internet? Pois…é difícil de imaginar! No entanto, há infelizmente ainda pessoas no mundo que nunca tiveram acesso à Internet…
Recentemente conheci um projecto mundial que me sensibilizou devido aos objectivos a que se propõe. O projecto O3b (Other 3 billion) pretende “levar” a Internet (aos outros) 3 mil milhões de seres humanos que nunca acederam à Internet.
O Projecto 03b é uma iniciativa que partiu de grandes empresas mundiais, como por exemplo a Google, HSBX ou SES e que tem como ambicioso objectivo disponibilizar Internet para mais de 3 mil milhões de pessoas que até aos dias de hoje nunca tiveram acesso à rede.
O projecto consistem em colocar 8 satélites espalhados pelo órbita do planeta Terra, a uma distância de cerca de 8.000 KMs, que permitirão o acesso à Internet a cerca de 70% da população mundial.
A constelação formada pelos 8 satélites (que no futuro serão 16) irão permitir o acesso à Internet com uma qualidade semelhante à fornecida pela fibra óptica. A infra-estrutura a implementar permitirá às Telcos (Operadoras de comunicações) e ISP (Internet Service Providers) que poderão assim disponibilizar serviços aos mercados emergentes.
Mas como os satélites forneceriam Internet a todo o mundo? A O3b Networks disponibilizou alguns vídeos que permitem ter uma ideia de como o projecto funcionaria. Segue um exemplo.
Constelação de satélites
- Constelação
- Design, integração e testes da responsabilidade da Thales Alenia Space
- Constelação inicial terá 8 satélites
- Espaçamento Orbital: 45˚
- Distância Orbital : 8063km
- Inclinação Orbital: <0.1˚
- Período de terreno: 360 min / número de contatos: 4 por dia
- Feixes
- 10 feixes por região (7 regiões) totalizando 70 feixes remotos por 8 constelação de satélites
- Até 1,2 Gbps por feixe (600 Mbps x 2)
- 84 Gbps disponível por 8 constelação de satélites
- Feixe de cobertura: 700 km de diâmetro
- Largura de banda : 216 MHx; 2 x 216 MHz por feixe
Num Press Release divulgado a 10 de Novembro de 2011 pela organização, pode ler-se que “ a O3b Networks Limited conseguiu obter cerca de US$137 milhão, através de bancos e investidores, para financiar integralmente a construção e lançamento de sua constelação de satélites global da próxima geração”.
John W. Dick, Presidente do Conselho da O3b Networks Limited, referiu que “Estamos satisfeitos por ter novos accionistas a apoiar um projecto tão importante. O valor dos novos recursos e a qualidade dos investidores reflecte a capacidade da O3b Networks para equilibrar objectivos sociais importantes, enquanto mantém os retornos do sector privado necessários. Além disso, eu acredito que a O3b representa uma mudança de passo principal na economia da conectividade para o mundo em desenvolvimento”.
Press Release O3b
O3b Networks set to virtually double fleet capacity as financing is secured to build four more satellites.
New investment round adds US$137 million to fuel the company’s growth.
St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands, November 10 2011.
John W. Dick, Chairman of the Board of O3b Networks, announced today that the company has raised US $137 million for the construction of four additional satellites that will boost both capacity and redundancy over the emerging markets. The additional spacecraft, set to launch in 2014, will nearly double the capacity of O3b Networks’ initial fleet of eight Medium Earth Orbit satellites, which are scheduled to be launched in early 2013.
The expansion of the fleet from eight to twelve satellites will increase the company’s throughput by more than 90% through a combination of the additional beams deployed and the enhanced link efficiency that a larger constellation of satellites can deliver. The company has already sold a little over a third of its capacity on a global basis with the contracted backlog now standing at over US $600 million.
“One of the things that first attracted us to O3b Networks was the idea that the fleet is uniquely scalable,” said Larry Alder, Business Operations Director at Google, one of O3b’s earliest investors. “For relatively modest incremental investments, O3b can add meaningful quantities of high quality, low latency bandwidth and deliver it into the emerging world at sustainable and affordable prices.”
New equity funds were raised from certain of O3b’s original investors who were joined in this round by Luxembourgish investment company – Luxempart. The financing also included the expansion of the Coface-backed senior debt facility of an additional US $85 million provided by HSBC, ING, CA-CIB and Dexia. “Raising additional financing to support future growth at a time of market uncertainty is an incredibly important milestone for O3b Networks and reflects the confidence that our investors and lenders have in our vision and unique value proposition,” explained Bill Lawrence, EVP Corporate Development at O3b Networks, who led the financing efforts on behalf of the company.
O3b’s satellites will be placed into orbit approximately 8,000 kilometres from earth, four times closer than geo-stationary satellites, speeding up internet connections through its inherent low latency.
“Global IP traffic is set to increase four fold over the next five years, growing at more than 30% per year and a huge proportion of that expansion will be in the emerging markets,” said Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks. “O3b is committed to providing industry leading customer service and carrier class reliability while driving down the cost per Mbps delivered into the developing world. With this investment, we have the capacity to fuel our customers’ networks and position them to respond to the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth and connectivity.”
About O3b Networks
O3b Networks is building a new fiber-quality, satellite-based, global Internet backbone for telecommunications operators (telcos) and Internet service providers (ISPs) in emerging markets. The O3b Networks system will combine global reach and the speed of a fiber-optic network. With investments and operational support from SES, Google, Liberty Global, HSBC Principal Investments, Northbridge Venture Partners, Allen & Company, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Satya Capital, Sofina and Luxempart, the O3b system will provide telcos and ISPs with a low-cost, high-speed alternative to connect their 3G, WiMAX and fixed-line networks to the rest of the world. This will allow billions of consumers and businesses in 177 countries to benefit from high-speed Internet connectivity for educational, medical and commercial applications. O3b Networks’ headquarters is in St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands.
