Acta Asfmnautica Vol.47. Nos. 2-9, pp. 657664.

2000
0 2000 International Astronautical Federation. Published by Else&r Science Ltd
Pergamon
All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro PII: SOO94-5765(00)00103-X 0094-5765/00 $ - see front matter

ONE WAY MULTIMEDIA BROADCASTING AS A TOOL FOR

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

M G Chandrasekhar, D Venugopal, M Sebastian & B Chari

WorldSpace Management Corporation
Bangalore, India

ABSTRACT

An improved quality of life through education and developmental communication is an

important necessity of societal up-llftment in the new millennium, especially in the
developing nations. The population explosion and the associated pressure on the scarce
resources to meet the basic necessities have made it more or less impossible for most of
the nations to invest reasonable resources in realizing adequate channels of formal
education. Thanks to the developments in satellite communication and associated
technologies, new vistas are available today to provide education and developmental
communication opportunities to millions of people, spread across the globe. Satellite
based Digital Audio and Multimedia Broadcasting is one such new development that is
being viewed as an innovative space application in the coming decades. The potential of
DAB technology to reach education, information and entertainment directly to the user
through a specially designed receiver could be efficiently utilized by the developing
nations to overcome their d#kulties in realizing formal channels of education and
information dissemination.

WorldSpace plans to launch three geo-stationary satellites that would cover most of the
developing economies in Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean. Apart from a variety of digital, high quality audio channels
providing news, views, education and entertainment opportunities, the end users can
also get a responsive multimedia. The multimedia is being planned as a specially
packaged offering that can meet the demand of students, professionals as well as certain
special groups who have certain specific data and information requirements. Apart from
WorldSpace, renowned agencies/firms from different parts of the world shall provide the
required content to meet these requirements. Though the Internet option is available,
higher telephone charges and the diff;culty in getting access have made this option less
interesting and unpopular in most of the developing countries. The proposed digital
audio and multimedia oflering from WorldSpace to millions of consumers spread across
more than 120 countries is considered as a unique tool for education and development,
particularly in the developing nations. In this paper, an attempt is made to briefly
describe the issues associated with education and development in developing countries,
the WorldSpace oflering and how a developing nation can benefit from this offering in
the coming decades. 0 2000 International Astronautical Federation. Published by Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

657
 658 50th IAF C:orr~w\.\

&&around importance, across the length and

breadth of the country, simultaneously
One of the major problems facing most and at low cost. The need gap applies
of the developing nations, is the not only to matters of governance, but
disparity in education standards across also to basic infrastructure information
geographic, and more importantly such as health, housing, and
economic strata. It is not a lack of management of natural resources.
willingness on the part of educators, that
contributes to this disparity, rather it is a 1. Defining Communication
lack of adequate teaching aids, as
compared to those that are available in Communication has two distinct and
metropolitan and more affluent rather diverse definitions. One implies
educational societies. an interaction between all parties
involved in the process and the other
A key development over the past few deals with information passed from one
years, has been the explosion of the party to others, through a multitude of
“information super-highway”. This has methods. This paper deals with the
made available enormous quantities of latter definition, loosely termed as “one
previously inaccessible knowledge, from to many communication”. This forms the
all over the world, to the common man, crux of broadcasting, whether it is via
on almost any topic. print, television, radio, or similar media.
Satellite systems provide the
The downside of this revolution is that in opportunity for information
the foreseeable future, this electronic disseminators to reach their entire
knowledge base, will become the de- audience at tremendous speeds, across
facto standard for information a wide geographic region, and most
dissemination. For future generations, importantly, at lower costs as compared
which would need to compete in those to any other mechanism, be it terrestrial
work environments, mere literacy and or otherwise.
certification of education will not provide
enough leverage to succeed. 2. Broadcastina as a solution

The need of the moment is to create an The Internet is by far the most potent
infrastructure that will not only provide medium for accessing specific
them with knowledge that is on par with information, from all corners of the
that available globally, but also in the world. However, it has its limitations,
common currency of the future. some of which are specific to
developing nations, and others that
It must be noted that electronic apply globally.
information is often confused or equated
with English based education. Many In developing nations, the lack of
non-English speaking countries, telecommunication infrastructure,
including China, have proved otherwise. makes the use of the Internet as a
With minimal investment, it is possible robust information delivery mechanism,
to deliver this knowledge in a language a cumbersome and expensive, if not
that is easily understood by each and impossible task. Unreliable terrestrial
every literate individual, in the language connections, coupled with low
of his or her choice. bandwidth, can create a chaotic
environment, especially for users
The other significant problem that exists residing outside of metropolitan areas.
in most developing nations, is the lack
of a robust infrastructure for There will be over 300 Million users of
dissemination of information of national the Internet by the end of the year
 50th IAF Congress 659

2000.The top fifteen countries will system is designed to provide a large

account for over 80% of them. Large number of high quality digital audio and
countries such as India and China have multi-media broadcast services from
extremely low percentages of their national, regional and international
populations online. China currently has broadcasters to a new generation of
4 million users or 0.26% of their small, portable and inexpensive
population using the Internet. India has receivers. AfriStar, the first of the
an even lower usage, with just over satellites was launched in October
500,000 users or less than 0.05% of the 1998. After undergoing extensive in-
population. orbit tests and field trials with the
receivers, the system has now become
Local Internet content in developing operational at its designated orbital
nations is minimal. Almost the entire location of 21 degrees East with a
Internet content is currently in English, number of broadcasters already using
while more than half of the online the system to broadcast their programs.
population by the end of 2000 would The remaining two satellites viz.
have a mother tongue other than AsiaStar and AmeriStar are scheduled
English. for launch early and middle 2000
respectively and are designated to
While developing nations should work occupy the 105 degrees East and 95
on a war footing to improve their degrees West orbital locations
communication infrastructure, satellite respectively.
systems can provide tremendous help in
taking the load for mass data delivery WorldSpace operates in the WARC-92
and to leapfrog the current lack of allocated 1467-1492 MHz frequency
infrastructure. bands for the digital audio broadcasting.
Each satellite has 3 beams each
In the global context, there are some covering an area of 14 million square
applications, such as education, that are kilometers. Each beam supports two
more amenable to “push” rather than high power transponders - one a
“pull”. The basic objective, of leveling conventional bent-pipe type and the
the playing field, would not be met if the other ‘on-board processing’ type. The
responsibility of reception of information on-board-processing type transponder
were completely transferred to the end allows individual up-links from
user. geographically separated locations (say
broadcasters’ studios). The signals
By using broadcast techniques, not only received on-board are processed and
can the overall cost of delivery combined and downlinked as a Time
(including the cost incurred by the user Division Multiplex (TDM) carrier. The
for accessing the information) come bent-pipe transponder allows the signals
down drastically, but the inability of the to be combined on ground at a hub as a
user to receive timely information is also TDM carrier and relay the same over
reduced. the satellite. Powerful error protection
schemes employing Reed Solomon
3. An Opportunity from WorldSgace block codes and rate % fonnlard error
correction codes ensure rugged and
WorldSpace is the first operational error free reception of signals.
global satellite digital audio
broadcasting system in the world. The The basic building block of the
system consists of three geo-stationary WorldSpace broadcast scheme is the
satellites that cover most of the 16 Kbps prime rate channel (PRC).
emerging economies in Africa, the Each TDM carrier at an encoded and
Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia, formatted data rate of 3.68 MbPS can
Latin America and the Caribbean with a support 96 PRCs. Each PRC can carry
total population of 4.6 billion. The a signal equivalent to AM broadcast
 quality (16 Kbps), FM stereo quality at information, and education. The
64 Kbps requires 4 PRCs and near CD- applications that have been outlined in
quality stereo at 128 Kbps or 8 PRCs. this paper are indicative of the scope of
The system offers the flexibility to the the service, but are definitely not
broadcaster of combining up to 8 PRCs exhaustive. Wherever there is a need
to create the required quality and for widespread dissemination of digital
quantity of audio services. The two TDM data, systems such as those proposed
carriers of each beam can support by WorldSpace, have a role to play both
about 40 to 60 channels depending on in the short and long term.
the mix of chosen quality channels.
WorldSpace sees education and
The high quality of audio at low bit rates national development as key areas of
is achieved through the MPEG (Motion focus in its operations in almost all the
Pictures Experts Group) 2.5 Layer III countries that the service covers, and is
audio compression scheme. Apart from in the process of integrating all the
a wide range of high quality, digital elements to provide a robust solution for
audio channels providing news and the same.
entertainment, the system also provides
for the high speed download of data up 4. An affordable data service
to 128 Kbps. This capability can be
used to provide a host of specialized The data service of WorldSpace can be
data and multi-media services. pre-packaged, or streaming to suit the
requirement of the application. Given
The user can access multimedia content the rapidly diminishing costs of
by connecting the data port of a computing equipment, the total initial
WorldSpace receiver to a PC, via a investment at the user end would be
Special PC Adapter (SPCA). This smart under US $1300, including the receiver
adapter handles the multimedia and a Pentium class computer. In a
broadcast data, converts it to a regular situation of community access for
serial port input, and then transmits it to education, the cost per student, works
the PC. The adapter also has in built out to less than US$3 for an average
data integrity and security functionality sized school of 450 students. With
for critical applications. deferred financing schemes and
government subsidies, the system
The data services of WorldSpace will would be well within the reach of
cater to a variety of sectors, ranging schools servicing even the most
from packaged multimedia for the home economically backward areas.
user, to natural resources, to health

THE COMMUNICATION CHAIN

1 SATELLITE /

UP-
Internet

\VER /-----+v> ENDUSER J

 50th IAF Congress 661

Usage of relevant lntemet material

t0 supplement the formal
curriculum
Development of low cost feedback
mechanisms (This could be through
l Educating the Educator traditional methods, including, but
not limited to, postal channels)
While individual attention may be
possible with more affluent . Primary Education (High School
recipients and those with some Level)
degree of proficiency in computer
based systems, in most cases, it is While the educator would receive
the “teacher” who would impart background material that would
knowledge to groups of individuals. allow him/her to better prepare for
imparting curricula to students, it
At the grass-root level, one way would also allow for the
satellite based multimedia enhancement of the learning
broadcasting, aims to provide these process itself. Judicious use of
educators with the latest tools, audio and video lessons would add
techniques and course material to considerable value to even the most
impart this knowledge, in a manner mundane of lessons. Moreover, the
that is in tune with the current world of moving video and high
developments taking place the world quality audio can demonstrate
over. concepts more powerfully than any
static medium ever can.
This process can only be brought
about with the committed WorldSpace plans to package such
involvement of a number of content under the aegis of the
organizations, including the satellite national and regional educational
companies, government bodies, boards. Some countries, especially
educational boards, non- those with more than one language,
government organizations, telecom have separate certification exams
service providers and even for each language of instruction. A
corporate entities. time and bandwidth sharing
operation will ensure that each
l Content Issues mode of instruction gets equal
weight.
The development and constant
upgrades of content is the largest . Higher Education (University)
and most complex issue in the area
providing educational assistance. While the process of education, is
not robust in emerging nations,
The steps involved are: much importance is placed on
higher education, for job placement.
The acquisition of existing course There is almost no white-collar
material, in its basic form. placement available for a person
Development of enhanced versions without a University degree, in
of the material, with audio and countries such as India.
multimedia content, in conjunction
with relevant education boards With a low number of seats in higher
Development of linguistic variations education institutions, and a
of syllabi burgeoning population, the
Development of standards on education system in most
quality to be adhered to rigorously developing nations is under severe
stress. There has been a move to
 alleviate this pressure by the material, as well as practical
creation of “distance education” (laboratory) work, directly to the
programs. student, or as was outlined in the
previous section, to study centers.
A system such as WorldSpace can WorldSpace is in the process of
easily expand the scope of distance formalizing a system for the
education, by making it possible for furthering of professional education
a student to access his/her course courses, not only in the Information
material from even the remotest Technology industry, but in as
location. Economically secure diverse educational areas as
students could have personal medicine, humanities and
access to course material, at their engineering. Each country would
homes. Others could avail of have access to a separate formal
distance education centers, which system according to its norms, and
would receive the material for further also have access to a global
dissemination. Not only does the knowledge base, in each field being
cost of delivery come down, the time developed by WorldSpace, in
taken is minimal. This would ensure conjunction with external agencies.
that every student has access to
course material at the same time, 6. Infrastructure Development
irrespective of location.
Lack of an infrastructure to distribute
It is further planned to enhance information of national relevance is a
distance education courses, by major shortcoming in developing
providing multimedia lectures and nations. Information tends to reside in
practical demonstrations to study metropolitan areas, with only a trickle to
centers. Education programs do semi urban and rural areas. Timely
exist on state run media, but the information about simple things such as
disadvantage is that they are not epidemics, floods, weather and power
amenable for repeat viewing, and situations can not only save millions of
cannot be stored for distribution. lives, but result in loss prevention to the
However, there does exist a fairly tune of billions of dollars.
large infrastructure for distance
education, which WorldSpace will Again, the main deterrent is the
make more responsive to student unreliability and expense of using a
needs. terrestrial telecom infrastructure as an
information conduit. In most cases,
0 Professional courses there is minimal feedback required from
the end user, which can be tackled in a
Undoubtedly, the Information multitude of ways. Neither is there a
Technology industry has yielded the requirement of high bandwidth
maximum number of job multimedia data. Most information can
opportunities globally, in the recent be passed to the user, streaming
past. There is an increased through narrow bandwidths.
awareness that professional
qualification in computer related Satellite systems are rugged and
topics, can greatly enhance job function in even the most adverse of
opportunities. There are numerous conditions, which would normally cause
private agencies that provide traditional delivery mechanisms to
certification of computer proficiency, collapse. State run organizations would
apart from formal university be able to use the WorldSpace system
degrees. to provide professionals such as
doctors, engineers and local bodies with
Data broadcast systems can allow much needed information, and guidance
for the distribution of course from a central source. The quality of
 50th IAF Congress 663

information would be uniform, thereby tremendous lack of knowledge on

ensuring that standards are adhered to how resources can be managed for
in even the remotest location. better yields.

l HealthCare Research information, including

satellite based imaging, can provide
WorldSpace plans to put into valuable inputs to the agriculturist.
operation a solution that caters to New techniques and advance
the specific needs of the health care warning of environmental and
sector, in the near future. weather changes will prove to be a
boon for farming, in general. It must
Participants would include: be noted here, that most
international Heaith Organizations agriculturists in developing nations
Medical Associations come from rural areas, with minimal
Government Bodies educational backgrounds.
Eminent medical professionals from
various fields Again, as in the case of rural
Health Journals and Publications primary education, there exists a
Pharmaceutical companies task of providing information to the
Hospitals and Medical Research “educators” in each of the areas.
companies Information would be passed on to
Internet sources local governing bodies and then
onwards to the final user. This
All this would be enhanced by a information, as in the case of
feedback mechanism, which would education material, would be
serve as a database for future customized according to the
development. language of convenience.

Information would range from Any project of this nature can only
notifications on epidemics to latest be done in conjunction with
techniques, facilities and drugs. government bodies, since the
information, is national in nature,
Information would be pre-packaged and needs to be collated and
and delivered in a readily processed by a competent body to
understandable form, to be stored ensure efficiency and accuracy,
by the end user, for future reference.
In case of emergencies, information
can be passed on to the user, in In conclusion
near real time.
Apart from the applications outlined
It is possible to fund a large part of above, the WorldSpace system can and
the cost of this ambitious project will be used to create information
through corporate sponsorships, in affluence in other key areas in
return for unprecedented reach, developing countries. Some of the
instantaneously. medium term areas of attention include:

l Agriculture and Natural Government Services

Resources Legal Services
Private Tutorials
Economic prosperity in agriculture- Finance Sector
based economies is directly linked Chambers of Commerce
to management of resources in an Corporate communications
efficient manner. While Executives/Professionals
mechanization is slowly improving Press
productivity, there exists a
664 S&h IAF Congress

Traditional media, the Internet and with even the most advanced nations of
satellite based systems can work in the world, thereby removing some if not
conjunctioo to bring the availability of all of the factors that create disparities.
information in developing nations on par