IBC2023 | Bridging the Digital Divide: ST Engineering iDirect’s Commitment to Africa
Alex Beach, Head of Media and Broadcast Market Development for ST Engineering iDirect
At IBC 2023 in Amsterdam, our Chief Editor Chris Green recently spoke with Alex Beach, Head of Media and Broadcast Market Development for ST Engineering iDirect . The conversation highlighted the latest innovations by ST Engineering iDirect being showcased at the event.
The MCX8000 modulator is a hot-swappable hardware upgrade that allows component replacement without downtime. The Skyflow ecosystem is a software solution that encodes, encrypts, packages, and converts broadcast signals into Multicast format for satellite distribution.
We have a real opportunity to help the African continent expand the overall connectivity through our solution here.”
In the conversation, Beach mentioned that he sees the potential for MCX8000 and Skyflow to bridge the digital divide in Africa. MCX8000 can bring essential video services to unconnected areas, while Skyflow can deliver premium content to mobile devices.
“I think this is a really good way for us to help the population in the African continent to take advantage of such services. We think that a lot of the governments are eager to implement this for the population.”
ST Engineering iDirect’s primary focus is satellite modulation and demodulation equipment. Beach mentioned they’re considering developing an application layer, akin to Skyflow, to complement their hardware platform.
