Below is our recent interview with Rick Somerton, Regional Director, ANZ at eSAT Global:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to eSAT Global?
A: eSAT Global have invented the world’s best Global Low Power Wide Area Network. Our system will connect Internet of Things devices almost anywhere on the face of the earth. Especially important characteristics of our solution: very low cost, remote devices that are small and very low power, and extremely efficient use of GEO MSS satellite resources.
We are using existing satellites which orbit almost 36,000 kms above the earth’s surface, so called GEO-Synchronous satellite designed for use in Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS). The conventional wisdom has been that it is not possible but with Inmarsat and Thuraya, GEO MSS operators, we have blown that myth out of the water, demonstrating the feasibility of the technology discovery of our CTO Michael Parr.
eSAT’s low cost system will have the ability to support billions of connected “things” all over the world, from a soil sensors on cotton farm in outback Australia, to an anti-poaching device on an Elephant in Africa, to a lost cat in San Diego.
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Q: Can you tell us something more about your recent announcement?
A: Our partner G8Way has for many years been involved in providing solutions to its customers using a range of Internet of Things devices and are a pioneer of the technology in South Africa. Their development of anti-poaching solutions has been very successful in protecting Rhino’s and Elephants in a range of African locations. The introduction of low cost,lost long battery life connectivity from eSAT will bring an extra dimension to the quest delivering an ability to monitor the health, well being and location of these targeted animals on a 24*7 basis.
Q: Who is your ideal client and why?
A: From a totally commercial perspective our ideal client is one who has a lot of resources in disperse locations and the collection of data from those resources will create value. Not to dwell on animal tracking but we see an enormous opportunity in tracking and reporting on the health and wellbeing of livestock. Various studies have suggested that the value of such information can be more than $50 per head per annum. With over 3 billion cows, sheep, and goats in the world the value of this data could be as much as $1 trillion over time.
But oneOne of the benefits of eSAT’s technology is its low cost. That means it’s possible to be deployed just about anywhere. We are looking at applications for safety at sea, tracking containers and packages, reporting on soil quality and environmental factors supporting sustainable agriculture, even bushfire prediction and detection. The list is almost endless, and we certainly haven’t been able to think of all of the applications. We hear new ones almost every day.
Q: What’s the best thing about eSAT Global that people might not know about?
A: I think that it is global and we don’t need to launch any satellites to completely cover the Earth with IoT connectivity. The day we switch the network on for commercial customers is the day it becomes global and that day is not very far off.
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Q: What can we expect from eSAT Global in next 12 months?
A: Having proven our technology with two leading satellite operators, we will be spending the next 12 months developing and testing the devices in a host of challenging applications and locations and will be ready for commercial release in a little over 12 months.