Smart Citi Teknologi (SCT) and Silkwave Inc. have announced a partnership that’s set to bring satellite broadband internet and digital multimedia connectivity to the Philippines.
Targeting villages, smart cities, and government applications, the two companies aim to elevate connectivity by not just increasing internet speeds but also by providing wide coverage, real-time, low-cost, data and multimedia services.
Silkwave Inc. and SCT will combine the state-of-the-art Starlink and Silkwave’s L-band mobile multimedia broadcasting services. These will then be integrated through a unicasting high-speed WiFi mesh network, ideally installed in villages, to deliver services to households within a 20-30km radius.
Silkwave is an Asia-based mobile satellite-internet data service provider that currently owns the world’s only L-band mobile broadcasting/multi-casting satellite, Asia-Star. This satellite operates at 105E, offering coverage over the whole of Asia. The higher-orbit satellite also ensures that data services are delivered to an unlimited number of users and devices anywhere in the region and maintain consistency even in different weather conditions.
Because of its high reliability, speed, wide coverage area, and no date-charge nature, Silkwave and SCT have proposed a few real-life use case scenarios for national security and public services for the Philippine government. For one, the L-band connectivity will be able to provide real-time and more accurate weather forecasts that can aid disaster responses in all areas of the country. Public broadcasting for pertinent warnings or information will not only be made easier but will also be able to reach far-flung areas and even those working at sea as well.
The company is proposing a pilot test of the service set up in three locations around the country: a city, a province, and an island.
Silkwave and SCT also wish to assist the government in its current mission to further the country’s digital transformation by providing high-quality and reliable nationwide connectivity. With the higher orbit satellite and combined technologies SCT and Silkwave are offering, this can supposedly be done more affordably, as well.
By 2025, however, the Asia-Star satellite will be replaced by Silkwave-1 which is the company’s second satellite. It’s expected to offer connectivity speeds that are 100x faster than what Asia-Star currently provides and also offers a high power-level for mass market rollout. This may probably include household or office use as well.
