Satellite networking technology, solutions, and services company Gilat Satellite Networks has been selected in a multimillion-dollar deal with satellite operator Intelsat to provide a satellite cellular backhaul solution in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The backhaul solution is being installed for a leading mobile telecommunication company in the country. Although the company has not been named, the country has four main operators: Vodacom, Airtel, Orange and Africell.
Intelsat has deployed its CellBackhaul service with Gilat’s SkyEdge II-c platform and Capricorn VSATs, connecting with a Ku-band satellite to bring mobile communications to nearly 1,000 previously underserved and unserved remote sites.
This implementation, say the partners, brings mobile services to deep rural sites in the DRC, geographically the second-largest nation in Africa, with a growing population of more than 90 million people. Working together, Intelsat and Gilat are, they say, extending mobile connectivity to areas where terrestrial backhaul networks are impractical, expensive, or otherwise unfeasible to deploy.
As the partners explain, with Gilat hubs and VSATs, Intelsat’s CellBackhaul satellite cellular backhaul solution combines the extended reach and resiliency of Intelsat’s largest-of-its-kind global network with network design, installation, and operation services, making it possible for mobile network operators to deploy services in areas where traditional terrestrial backhaul services are unavailable.
