Satellite service supplier Intelsat SA has announced a new multi-year capacity agreement with South African-based cellular phone network Vodacom on the Intelsat satellite fleet. Vodacom will utilise capacity on Intelsat 906 at 64° East and Intelsat 25 at 328.5° East to support its deployment of cellular backhaul service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Vodacom is currently implementing its 3G network across the DRC. This agreement expands the Intelsat-based cellular backhaul infrastructure supporting wireless services in Tanzania, Mozambique and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, Vodacom utilises multiple satellites on the Intelsat fleet for international trunking, corporate networking, in-flight broadband and disaster recovery services across the continent.
“This agreement continues our decade-long support of Vodacom in Africa, and comes at a time of unprecedented demand for reliable communications access,’ said Intelsat managing director of Africa Sales Jon Osler. “Intelsat’s breadth of services in the region, and our expertise in supporting wireless operators, allows providers such as Vodacom to reach its business goals as it expands its presence across Africa.’
