Ten Africa countries to benefit from sat broadband

14 September 2009

An agreement between SES and Intersat will increase broadband penetration in ten eastern and central African countries, it has been announced.

Due to start in the January 2010, the deal is aimed at bringing internet to the rural households, SMEs and schools that are not connected by the submarine fibre currently providing service to much of east Africa.

SES' Astra2connect will offer use of their World Skies NSS012 satellite to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Norbert Willems, managing director at Astra Broadband Services, asserted: "Stable and cost-efficient broadband connections are important for economic growth and social wealth."

He went on to say that Astra2Connect was a good option for those who had so far "been excluded from the digital revolution".

Newtec will collaborate with Intersat Africa to provide with user terminals.

The insufficiency of Africa's broadband was recently brought to international attention when South African firm Unlimited IT proved that Telkom - the country's top ISP - was slower at transferring data than a carrier pigeon.

Category: ICT