Satellite Internet in Liberia

With a population of approximately 4.5 million, Liberia is a west African country located on the coast and bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast. Its coastal location has made it an International Flag of Convenience. Today, there are 3,500 vessels registered under the Liberian flag; that’s 11% of ships worldwide. Aside from its importance as a port, the country has petroleum and crude oil and natural rubber industry sectors. The coast is also the most popular place for the vast majority of the population to live leaving inland areas more sparsely populated.

Infrastructural Needs

Liberia has been through a civil war and infrastructure damaged as a result, has not been re-built. Therefore, Liberia is very much a wireless country where three mobile operators compete and several ISPs have entered the market. Despite the competition, the cost of accessing the Internet can be rather high. Connectivity is available via submarine cables but the fixed line infrastructure requires improvement. When compared with other markets in the region, mobile penetration is also rather low. At present, mobile phone subscriptions stand at 83 per 100 people in 2016. 8.4% of the population are Internet users.

VSAT solutions provide the perfect means to boost Internet access and also to enable Mobile Network Operators to improve their access to mobile data services across Liberia. The fact that a the population is sparse the further inland you go, means that cellular providers and also ISPs can find it extremely costly to rollout services yet for little ARPU. A quick deploy, easily scalable, reliable and cost-effective means of connectivity is required. BusinessCom Networks provides VSAT solutions that are absolutely focused on the application that they are being used for. This means that users get the most efficient services for their requirements, all backed up with a reliable Service Level Agreement.

VSAT Solutions for Liberia

BusinessCom is dedicated to enabling connectivity where there is none, or where existing infrastructure is inadequate. For ISPs that need to reach inland Liberia, a VSAT network provides an ideal choice of connectivity for businesses, institutions or individuals, enabling them to reach new customers in outlying areas. We have very flexible options available that support varying network topologies.

For MNOs, BusinessCom can offer a highly cost-effective means of reaching untapped areas of new subscribers using cellular backhaul via VSAT to deliver their services. With the country highly reliant upon wireless connectivity for their voice and data services, Liberians need mobile network operators to broaden their access and make important services such as mobile money available to them. A mobile money initiative was kicked off in Liberia in 2015 and there are two mobile network operators in the country that offer mobile money services. It is these types of services, delivered via smartphones, that will enable the Liberian people to gain access to critical financial services that will help them to improve their economic situation and develop wealth that will benefit the entire nation in due course.

BusinessCom networks can advise on, design, develop, install and manage these critical VSAT networks that will benefit the people and businesses of Liberia.