Ok-NET, one in every of Africa’s main broadcasting expertise and IoT corporations has as soon as once more been acknowledged for its commanding position in that house, selecting two prime awards at this yr’s Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards (GITTA).
The firm was adjudged Broadcast Technology Innovation Provider of the Year and its founder and CEO, Richard Hlomador was additionally admitted into the Telecommunications Hall of Fame, becoming a member of different trade greats honoured at GITTA previously.
Many Ghanaians solely affiliate Ok-NET with the institution and administration of the nation’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform. But the corporate’s wealthy expertise in establishing and operating shared infrastructure efficiently in each the broadcasting expertise and telecoms house is method greater than what it does with the DTT platform. This is why Ok-NET is worthy associate in any shared infrastructure undertaking to be executed in Ghana and throughout Africa.
Since its institution in 1996, Ok-NET has largely remained a silent expertise large that has remained off the media highlight. The irony right here is that, though Ok-NET is a serious drive behind the digitalization of Ghana’s media trade, it seldom options within the media. It additionally does a lot extra within the expertise house that not many find out about, besides the a number of institutional shoppers similar to telcos, banks, insurance coverage corporations, state establishments and lots of extra who serve tens of millions of Ghanaians on the again of infrastructure powered by Ok-NET.
Beyond its work in DTT, Ok-NET can be a telecommunications firm and an web service supplier with large institutional data and expertise in ICT options, specializing within the supply of modern communication merchandise and enterprise options for company organizations, authorities companies, army and the final client public. Its focus is in delivering world-class options tailor-made for the wants of native and worldwide prospects within the following service areas;
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Teleport, Broadcasting (DTT, DTH, DAB), Wide Area Networks, Data Center, eCommerce, Rural Telephony, Solar Power Plants, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Private 4G, 4G over Satellite, and IOT.
Teleport
KNET boasts of a world-class Satellite Teleport which is a satellite tv for pc operator agnostic and has a number of Earth Station Antennae (ESA), Radio Frequency Transmitters (RFT) and a number of VSAT hubs that are absolutely built-in for varied service supply on any satellite tv for pc.
The firm has arguably the best-in-class teleport service in Ghana utilizing its 11.3m VSAT teleport and hub positioned at McCarthy Hills in Accra, constructed with state-of-the-art programs for top stage service supply. Its teleport providers present long-term and occasional options to broadcast shoppers in Ghana and elements of Africa, who function Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and or Direct to Home (DTH) platforms and channels.
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Beyond the teleport hub at McCarthy Hill, Ok-NET additionally has a number of factors of presence (POP). It can be the primary to design and implement a DTT community in Ghana and presently has a number of DTT Distribution Points throughout the size and breadth of nation, by way of which it provides Ghanaians entry to high quality tv viewing. There are a minimum of 12 POPs in Accra, and one every in Tema, Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi; whereas the corporate additionally runs about 40 DTT Distribution Points in a number of communities all the best way from Accra to the north.
National DTT Head-end
Ok-NET can be the principle drive behind Ghana’s National DTT infrastructure and it presently manages the National DTT Head-end at Kanda in Accra. This provides the corporate 24/7 visibility of what’s taking place when it comes to tv viewing expertise in all properties and places of work throughout the nation in actual time. It runs a system that ensures that measures are in place to resolve any rising challenges remotely and seamlessly. When it turns into essential to get on the sector, Ok-NET has effectively geared up automobiles that do check rides in communities and do actual time testing and fixing of challenges. But when Ok-NET engineers repair challenges, individuals are inclined to suppose their respective TV stations did the job.
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The ubiquity of Ok-NET, is such that presently, all tv stations in Ghana are using on the Ok-NET DTT and DTH (direct-to-home) infrastructure to get into individuals’s properties, places of work, resorts, bars and what-have-you. It means with out Ok-NET, an amazing majority of Ghanaians won’t even get to look at digital TV.
DTH
Everybody is aware of MultiTV. But the reality is, the operators of MultiTV, which is the Multimedia Group, solely present the content material. The infrastructure behind MultiTV is owned and managed by Ok-NET. That is the facility of Ok-NET.
Beside MultiTV, Ghanaians have not too long ago seen the HD+ decoder making waves in Ghana. Again, Ok-NET owns commanding shares in WAPS, the corporate that owns and manages HD+, and the service additionally runs on Ok-NET infrastructure, to offer Ghanaians a much better viewing expertise when it comes to image high quality.
Regarding DTH, on the final depend, some 12 million+ properties throughout Ghana and elements of West Africa are receiving direct-to-home providers from Ok-NET. All of that’s made potential from their state-of-the-art teleport hub and POP stations throughout the nation, plus comparable installations in Togo, Sierra-Leone and Liberia developing.
DAB
Based on its confirmed success within the DTT and DTH, Ok-NET not too long ago grew to become the de facto associate of the National Communications Authority (NCA) within the supply of a digital audio broadcast (DAB) infrastructure, underneath which some 16 radio stations in Accra and Kumasi had been engaged in a pilot forward of the rollout of an entire DAB+ community in Ghana. DAB expertise will allow Ghanaians to take heed to high-quality radio stations with information providers from areas the place DAB is enabled throughout the nation. The DAB community leverages the present DTT Network constructed, operated, and managed by Ok-Net.
Rural Telephony
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Ok-NET can be very large on rural telephony, and that’s one thing that not many find out about. The firm works with the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) to offer over 40 solar-powered telecom towers and counting in unserved and underserved communities to make sure the telcos can present connectivity to these communities at reasonably priced charges.
The modern and cost-effective Ok-NET towers referred to as the MRIID (Managed Rural IT Infrastructure Development), present a really welcoming entry to telcos to co-locate at a really reasonably priced charge in areas the place ARPU (common income per consumer) is low for telcos. Ok-NET gives the towers at a month-to-month payment. This is to encourage telcos to offer providers to the agricultural of us, who would in any other case have been denied connectivity because of the excessive value of provision towards low income.
But extra importantly, what MRIID does is it helps the agricultural folks to be digitally included within the sense that they’ve entry to the connectivity wanted to enhance financial actions, well being, schooling and lots of extra; and they’re additionally in a position to absolutely take part in socio-political points successfully.
Smart photo voltaic power as a service
Another factor that makes Ok-NET very modern is the truth that they energy most of their websites with photo voltaic power thereby being environmentally. In truth, they’ve launched a brand new product referred to as Energy as a Service (EaaS), utilizing photo voltaic to energy websites for firms and operators, who pay minimal payments for power utilization. This is on the market at varied areas throughout the nation and the West African area.
Managed providers
One different factor that persons are not too conscious of is that, through the years, Ok-NET has offered Managed Networking and Communications options (Data, Voice and Video) to giant, medium and small companies all through Ghana with a median annual development charge of almost 200percent yr to yr. No different major information communications providers supplier in Ghana has rivalled this achievement.
Many are inclined to suppose that every one the web providers offered to company organizations are completed by both telcos or the well-known ISPs. But a big chunk of company Ghana entry their web providers instantly from Ok-NET as a result of it’s extra dependable than what a variety of the identified ISPs and telcos provide. The proof of reliability of Ok-NET’s web providers is such that almost all banks and monetary establishments within the nation, together with Ecobank, use Ok-NET slightly than some other. Banks can’t get it fallacious on their digital providers, and that’s the reason they use Ok-NET.
Undersea fibre outage
Indeed, the corporate’s shoppers are company organizations, whose essential strains of companies embrace banking, mining, TV and Radio broadcasting, publishing, manufacturing, schooling, governance, and merchandizing. Recently, when Ghana and a few African nations suffered web outage because of the minimize within the undersea cables that serve Ghana, establishments linked to Ok-NET had been amongst those that acquired service restored in lower than 24 hours, as a result of Ok-NET has redundancy on cables coming from instructions, outdoors of those that go broken.
Saving Liberia
Ok-NET has sturdy footprints in elements of West Africa, significantly Sierra Leone and Liberia. Indeed, when Ebola broke out in 2014, Liberia was the toughest hit on the continent, and several other expertise service suppliers, together with telcos nearly bailed out on that nation, leaving it in digital darkness and no entry to speak with the remainder of the world. Ok-NET was the one expertise firm that went into Liberia on the time and offered web connectivity to allow them have entry to the remainder of the world in that disaster second.
Big world companions
It is worthy of notice that KNET additionally gives uplink providers throughout Africa for the French world broadcaster, Canal+ amongst others. On the again of its bespoke infrastructure, Ok-NET provides VSAT Hub Lease (HNO & VNO) Services, VSAT Managed Services, Space Tracking Station providers, Earth Station Antenna Lease, 24/7 Global NOC with TAC help.
Content help for broadcasters
To additional stamp its authority within the space of high quality tv viewing expertise, Ok-NET has now positioned itself to obtain content material from world wide by way of fibre on Zixi and SRT and distribute throughout Africa. The firm additionally runs a sensible OB (outdoors broadcast) van, which sits in Accra, however is ready to obtain reside feed from anyplace on the earth and ship it in real-time to any a part of the continent. Indeed, with its good OB, Ok-NET can cowl reside occasions and ship the content material to anyplace on the continent per consumer specs.
In Ghana for example, Ok-NET does reside protection of main soccer video games and different nationwide occasions for the state broadcaster and different channels on the DTT and DTH platforms. A working example is the FIFA World Cup Qualifier sport between Ghana and the Central Africa Republic in Kumasi this week.
The firm has labored with a few of the main cellular operators in varied capacities, together with however not restricted to offering help in backhauling GSM site visitors from distant rural communities; and in addition as an ISP offering information connectivity to their subscribers.
Ok-NET has certainly remained essentially the most silent expertise and digital trade large, whose work and options impacts virtually each Ghanaian and the peoples of different nations however the firm has completed all this on the quiet.
The firm prides itself as the one indigenous expertise firm that’s effectively positioned to seamlessly energy the conclusion of an built-in ECOWAS. It is protected to say that the Ok-NET is without doubt one of the establishments with the requisite instruments, experience and options to assist Africa leapfrog the hurdles in the best way of its digital transformation and bridge the digital divide quicker.