Delivery of broadband services to SubSaharan Africa via Nigerian communications satellite

Africa is the least wired continent in the world in terms of robust telecommunications infrastructure and systems to cater for its more than one billion people. African nations are mostly still in the early stages of Information Communications Technology (ICT) development as verified by the relatively low ICT Development Index (IDI) values of all countries in the African region. In developing nations, mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration between 2000-2009 was increasingly more popular than fixed broadband subscriptions. To achieve the goal of universal access, with rapid implementation of ICT infrastructure to complement the sparsely distributed terrestrial networks in the hinterlands and leveraging the adequate submarine cables along the African coastline, African nations and their stakeholders are promoting and implementing Communication Satellite systems, particularly in Nigeria, to help bridge the digital hiatus. This paper examines the effectiveness of communication satellites in delivering broadband-based services

The role of communication satellites in public management, education, governance and business in Nigeria

Existing communication infrastructure in the African hinterlands is grossly inadequate, thus there is a need to develop national, regional and sub-regional carrier of carriers and digital links with cross-border inter connectivity. Although, the continent has adequate capacity on submarine fibre optic cables along the shores of the African coastline, it lacks an adequate infrastructure within African countries including cross-border connectivity. The demand projection suggests that there is a need for a robust passive infrastructure built in and around Africa to address the large un-met demand for information and communication services. This paper examines NigComSat Ltd (a government company) strategic plan for ICT development in Nigeria as a vehicle to drive the National ICT revolution in pursuit of: national e-readiness, ICT self-reliance and the skills acquisition required for engineering and technology domestication to enable the socio-economic development of Nigeria

Modelling and cost estimation for conversion of green methanol to renewable liquid transport fuels via olefin oligomerisation

Abstract The ambitious CO₂ emission reduction targets for the transport sector set in the Paris Climate Agreement require low-carbon energy solutions that can be commissioned rapidly. The production of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel from renewable methanol using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and Mobil’s Olefins to Gasoline and Distillate (MOGD) syntheses was investigated in this study via process simulation and economic analysis. The current work presents a process simulation model comprising liquid fuel production and heat integration. According to the economic analysis, the total cost of production was found to be 3409 €/tfuels (273 €/MWhLHV), corresponding to a renewable methanol price of 963 €/t (174 €/MWhLHV). The calculated fuel price is considerably higher than the current cost of fossil fuels and biofuel blending components. The price of renewable methanol, which is largely dictated by the cost of electrolytic hydrogen and renewable electricity, was found to be the most significant factor affecting the profitability of the MTO-MOGD plant. To reduce the price of renewable fuels and make them economically viable, it is recommended that the EU’s sustainable transport policies are enacted to allow flexible and practical solutions to reduce transport-related emissions within the member states