Nigeria Existing Satellite Has Only 7% Utilisation – Okuneye

A satellite industry expert, Ladi Okuneye, has said Nigeria’s existing satellite infrastructure is operating at only about seven per cent utilisation, raising questions over the effectiveness of plans to expand the country’s satellite capacity.

Okuneye, who spoke in an interview with TVC News, said the Federal Government should develop a clear strategy to increase the utilisation of existing infrastructure before committing to new satellite capacity.

According to him, Nigeria’s satellites have several potential applications, including television broadcasting, secure communications for the military and other security agencies, agriculture, border control, and other services that can improve the lives of Nigerians.

He, however, said the proposed satellite procurement was primarily intended to replace NigComSat-1R, which is approaching the end of its stated operational life.

While acknowledging the need to replace the ageing satellite, Okuneye questioned whether the specifications for the proposed replacement satellites would provide significantly greater capacity.

He said he had reviewed the tender documents issued in 2024 to firms bidding to build the new satellites, following his consultancy engagement with the National Assembly committee overseeing the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT).

Okuneye described the specifications in the tender documents as a “very legacy design”, arguing that they did not sufficiently reflect recent developments in satellite technology.

“The existing satellite is only at about seven per cent utilisation. What is the roadmap to be able to actually ramp up utilisation that NigComSat has been unable to do since inception, and why is that going to be different this time around?” he asked.

He, however, stressed that the seven per cent utilisation figure would need to be independently verified against NIGCOMSAT’s operational records and transponder usage.

According to him, some of the designs submitted in response to the tender suggested that the proposed satellites could serve between two million and three million Nigerians.

Beyond utilisation, Okuneye questioned Nigeria’s continued reliance on geostationary orbit satellites, arguing that the country should consider combining geostationary orbit systems with low-Earth orbit satellites.

“Nigeria should actually be looking at a combination of both systems,” he said.

He also questioned whether Nigeria needed to own all the proposed broadcasting capacity or could lease part of it commercially.

According to him, the primary purpose of the satellites should be to provide secure communications for the country’s security agencies, while excess capacity could be made available for use.

Okuneye further expressed concern over the timing of the replacement programme, saying the current timeline could prove difficult without a stopgap arrangement to ensure continuity of services.

“I do not think the existing timeline is realistic, and we do need to have a stop-gap solution in place,” he said.

“If we are going to launch a new satellite into that same orbital slot, are we not going to have the same issues of interference?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT, Nkechi Jane Egerton-Idehen, said the satellite initiatives would expand digital services for millions of Africans.

Egerton-Idehen said this would strengthen Nigeria’s satellite communications capacity and expand access to reliable services, particularly in underserved and remote communities.