Avanti Communications has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Free which will see the latter firm build and host a new satellite gateway in Senegal for Avanti’s HYLAS 4 state-of-the-art Ka-band satellite.
HYLAS 4 is Avanti’s latest satellite, and the new gateway will extend its coverage to Senegal and the neighbouring West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, and Liberia, as well as completing Avanti’s coverage of Ivory Coast. The expanded coverage will significantly increase access to high-speed satellite internet for the countries’ schools, hospitals and communities.
The new gateway will also provide satellite backhaul services to Avanti’s carrier customers, extending their reach to rural areas and other semi-urban locations where terrestrial networks are currently limited or unreliable. The partnership also aims to have a big impact on education, enabling e-learning services for schools across the region.
Free Senegal will build and operate the new gateway from its Tier III data centre facility in Diamniadio outside the capital Dakar, adding Avanti as a strategic customer to its growing enterprise business in Senegal and supporting the Government’s Digital Senegal 2025 strategy. Pending approval from the Senegalese authorities, the gateway is planned to go live in December 2022.
Kyle Whitehill, CEO of Avanti Communications, commented: “This strategic partnership with Free in Senegal demonstrates our commitment to working with local partners in Africa such as Free in order to increase the coverage of our satellite fleet - benefitting countries and territories that are often overlooked when it comes to high-speed broadband.”
