Senegalese telco Sonatel says it has boosted its teleport in Gandoul with the deployment of Eutelsat OneWeb's Satellite Portal Network (SNP), which includes 16 LEO satellite antennas and a Tier III technical room.
The new SNP infrastructure – which was announced on Thursday – connects Sonatel’s terrestrial networks with Eutelsat OneWeb's constellation of LEO satellites, facilitating the routing of broadband internet to Senegal and the subregion.
The Gandoul teleport is interconnected to Sonatel’s subsea cables and national and international terrestrial networks, which Sonatel said enables a robust and scalable hybrid satellite-fibre infrastructure backed by secure energy infrastructure and redundant systems.
Connected to Eutelsat OneWeb's global network, the Gandoul teleport strengthens Senegal's role as a strategic anchor point in international digital exchanges, and positions it as a regional hub for satellite and digital connectivity in West Africa, said Sonatel CEO Brelotte Ba.
“With the deployment of this Eutelsat OneWeb Gateway and its 16 new generation satellite antennas, Sonatel strengthens its historic teleport and confirms its desire to invest sustainably in very high-level digital infrastructures at the service of Senegal and Africa,” Ba said in a statement.
Ba added that the project aligned with the Senegalese government’s New Deal Technologique (NDT) Horizon 2034 plan to extend internet coverage to 95% of the country’s population, as well as establish digital sovereignty, digitize 90% of public administration services and create a biometric digital ID.
Philippe Baudrier, GM of Eutelsat’s Konnect Africa, added that the new infrastructure at Gandoul “further strengthens OneWeb's terrestrial network and demonstrates our common commitment to support resilient and reliable connectivity across the region.”
