Intelsat South Africa (Pty) Ltd today announced that it has signed a five-year contract with Vodacom International, a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, to provide satellite capacity to enable Vodacom`s expansion of mobile telecommunications services to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Intelsat is providing capacity on its 904 satellite at 60oE to carry the telecommunications traffic generated to and from more than 20 base stations and switching centres around and inside the African countries, as well as into the public switched network.
"Major Southern African mobile communications operators are increasingly relying on satellites because they offer cost-effective and rapid deployment into remote areas where conventional infrastructure is limited or non-existent," commented Johan Prinsloo, Regional Director, Intelsat South Africa. "We consider this expansive satellite network a landmark achievement for supporting the extension of mobile telecommunications in the region."
Andrew Mthembu, Deputy CEO of the Vodacom Group, commented: "The Democratic Republic of Congo is a huge country with vast distances between the cities, so building our network there was complex. Using Intelsat satellites, we were able to easily connect Kinshasa to the other main areas such as Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi."
"Coming to Intelsat for this type of solution has allowed us to open up a significant communications opportunity in the most cost-effective way possible," added Frikkie Vermeulen, Technical Support Director of Vodacom International. "I am sure that with reliable satellite solutions, communications for people in Africa will continue to improve."
The Vodacom Group is one of SA`s largest privately owned companies, whose major shareholders are Telkom SA, Venfin and Vodafone, the UK-based organisation that is the largest worldwide provider of mobile communications.
For further information, please contact Brian Gibson at telephone (011) 880 1510; mobile 083 253 5988; fax (011) 880 1392; e-mail Gibson@icon.co.za
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Intelsat, Ltd offers telephony, corporate network, video and Internet solutions around the globe via capacity on 25 geosynchronous satellites in prime orbital locations. Customers in approximately 200 countries and territories rely on Intelsat satellites and staff for quality connections, global reach and reliability. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
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