As part of the efforts to improve the country’s security and productivity, the Federal Government has commenced moves to roll out satellite based augmentation systems (A-SBAS) using the nation’s satellite in orbit (NIGCOMSAT-1R).
According to the partnership between Nigeria and other international agencies, the move would also benefit some countries in Africa.
The Nigeria Communications Satellite limited (NigComSat) is championing the project.
NIGCOMSAT had entered into partnership with the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) and Thales Alenia Space to deliver precise satellite positioning services for some countries in the African continent.
A statement from NIGCOMSAT stated, “the three partners successfully demonstrated the additional services provided by A-SBAS on July 7 and 8, this year, by calling on the SBAS signal they have broadcast over the Africa and India Ocean (AFI) region since September to provide the first SBAS open service in this part of the world via the NigComSat-1R satellite “
The statement which quoted the Managing Director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Dr Abimbola Alale added, “the demonstration in Brazzaville, Congo, ( in July) is in line with our desire to bring to the fore the numerous disruptive applications of SBAS technology utilizing precise point positioning (PPP) and warnings alerts in digitalized economy across many sectors especially in non-aviation sector such as maritime, rail, survey, civil engineering, oil & gas, precision agriculture, security of strategic national infrastructure, mass-market applications among others.
“It follows the policy direction of the Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami in utilization of NIGCOMSAT-1R for a digitalized economy for sustainable development in the continent,” Dr Alale asserted.”
The demonstration in Brazzaville followed successful flight demonstrations in January 2021 in Lomé and June, in Douala.
It was gathered that the first demonstration of the special urgent situation warning service via satellite showed the system’s ability to broadcast a warning message via the A-SBAS signal to mobile phones, without requiring a terrestrial network. This service sends a message to the populations concerned, providing information on the type of danger and instructions to be followed.
While the second demonstration of precise point positioning (PPP) via satellite, showed the system’s ability, also using the A-SBAS signal, to broadcast, via open access, Global Navigation Satellite System, (GNSS) corrections ensuring positioning accuracy to within centimeters across the entire African continent.
According to industry experts this service saves resources and energy and improves productivity across a broad swath of applications, including agriculture, land and maritime transport, surveying and drone navigation.
The second demonstration consisted in broadcasting GNSS corrections based on the CNES© / Geoflex PPP technology, also via the A-SBAS signal.
These corrections demonstrated their ability to achieve centimetric accuracy over the African continent. This world-first via satellite opens up vast opportunities for applications in fields such as precision agriculture, maritime and road transport, rail safety, drone navigation, mapping and land registration.
Explaining the importance attached to the initiative, the statement noted that a seminar was organized on July 6, 7 and 9 in Brazzaville to raise awareness of SBAS services in Africa. It was organized in conjunction with EGNOS-Africa JPO (Joint Program Office) and was attended by about 100 national and international experts.
“Thales Alenia Space is the ideal partner to support Africa’s efforts to implement its own SBAS system, based on our proven expertise in developing SBAS systems in Europe (EGNOS1) and South Korea (KASS),” said Benoit Broudy, Vice President, Navigation Business Unit at Thales Alenia Space.
Speaking on the development Mohamed Moussa, Director General of ASECNA said: “This latest demonstration proved the ability of SBAS to transmit a warning about an imminent danger to the populations concerned and thus enhance their safety. A number of sectors, including agriculture and transport, will benefit from these precise satellite positioning services, accurate to within centimeters – and we have already proven their effectiveness. This latest success will help accelerate the rollout of SBAS and associated services in Africa.”
“I’m proud that ASECNA was able to demonstrate the utility and efficiency of SBAS services on our continent for all business sectors, and not just air transport.”
“The upcoming deployment of the ‘SBAS for Africa & Indian Ocean’ system, the navigation and positioning solution for Africa and by Africa, will make a significant contribution to our citizens’ economic and social development, ” he added.
