BICS, a global wholesale carrier for voice, mobile data and capacity services, has
launched a range of IP over satellite (IPoSat) services, to provide cost effective
connectivity to landlocked countries in Africa and a back-up for fibre and submarine
cables. This allows operators in the regions to increase their network availability
and secure an improved quality of service for customers.
Clementine Fournier, regional vice president of BICS Africa said, “BICS has a long
tradition of investing in Africa and this is another example of BICS’ commitment to
bringing the latest technology to the region. These services will improve service
reliability and connect landlocked countries to ensure internet and roaming services
are always accessible to everyone in Africa. This follows the launch of the
Johannesburg PoP earlier this year and the foundation of the first active LTE
roaming service on the continent in 2013.”
The SatFlex and MultiFlex services allow operators to ensure connectivity remains
available even in the most challenging geographical and environmental conditions,
where fibre or submarine cabling has a high possibility of experiencing outages.
To ensure end-to-end link quality and efficiency BICS uses its own Europe-based
teleport satellite and fibre infrastructure. Capacity is available from both stable and
inclined orbit satellites, offering providers data speeds of hundreds of Mbps in each
direction.
Eric Loos, senior product manager of capacity and IP at BICS said, “SatFlex and
MultiFlex are excellent tools for operators to ensure their customers are receiving
high quality connectivity even in the most challenging of environments and
circumstances. In areas difficult to reach with traditional capacity solutions, as is
particularly the case for several countries in Africa, BICS satellite services can offer
robust connectivity, increasing the quality of experience for millions of people.”
“By using BICS’ satellite IP services, operators can ensure their customers are no
longer taken completely offline by damaged fibre cabling and severe weather
conditions,” he added.
