More Cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Get Satellite-Enabled High-Speed Connectivity with SES Networks and Gilat Telecom

LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SES Networks’ longtime customer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gilat Telecom, has expanded the satellite capacity under contract with SES Networks in the country, now topping more than 3.0 Gbps.

“For years, improving connectivity has been a high priority for us and we have been incredibly impressed with the speed and quality of our service through SES Networks”

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Gilat has been providing Kinshasa, the capital and largest city in DRC, with expansive internet connectivity services for many years, and has seen unprecedented network reliability and resiliency from the SES Networks service. The company has now also launched service over SES’s O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite fleet to a second DRC location, bringing fiber-equivalent internet to customers in Lubumbashi.

Gilat Telecom is based in Israel, and offers satellite and fiber-based connectivity services in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Gilat first deployed SES Networks’ ultra-low latency, high throughput connectivity in 2014, following the launch of the first four satellites in the O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) fleet, becoming the first to use the new connectivity in Africa, and the second worldwide. Since that time, Gilat has seen strong and steady customer growth in DRC as customers have responded to the high-performance internet service and the applications it enables, and has effectively become one of the largest MEO satellite solutions users in the world.

As the need for reliable connectivity has expanded in DRC, SES Networks worked with Gilat to implement a diverse routing solution to further increase network uptime and availability. With this solution, ground terminals were placed in multiple locations throughout the region, and an advanced intelligent routing platform was implemented to enable intelligent switching across multiple satellite links resulting in extremely high link availability.

“For years, improving connectivity has been a high priority for us and we have been incredibly impressed with the speed and quality of our service through SES Networks,” said Dan Zajicek, CEO of Gilat Telecom. “We chose SES Networks’ MEO Satellites because of its unique ability to rival fiber performance, without having to rely on any land-based link from a neighbouring country. We look forward to many more years of partnership with SES Networks, and leveraging the company’s unrivalled breadth of connectivity solutions to expand the reach of internet and mobile connectivity in DRC.”

“We are proud to celebrate this milestone of three years of service with Gilat,” said Carole Kamaitha, Vice President of Africa Sales at SES Networks. “Our shared commitment to expanding and improving connectivity has enabled us to break through barriers together, and design creative and unique solutions for DRC. Moving forward, we are eager to work even more with Gilat, leveraging the diverse capabilities of SES Networks for the benefit of customers in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and across DRC.”

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About SES

SES is the world-leading satellite operator and the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 12 in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). SES focuses on value-added, end-to-end solutions in two key business units: SES Video and SES Networks. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions. SES’s portfolio includes ASTRA, O3b and MX1, a leading media service provider that offers a full suite of innovative digital video and media services. SES is listed on the Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange (ticker: SESG). Further information available at: www.ses.com

About Gilat

Gilat Telecom is a managed service provider that offers connectivity solutions together with other value-added services in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

With successful deployments in 50 countries worldwide, Gilat Telecom consistently delivers high-quality, cost-effective and efficient solutions to telcos, ISPs, governments, enterprise customers and international organizations.

The company operates three international teleports in Europe and the Middle East, multiple hubs/PoPs in Africa, Europe and the US.

In addition, Gilat Telecom is a shareholder in WIOCC, owners of the East African Submarine System (EASSy), and in the West Africa Cable System (WACS), with undersea fibre-optic cable systems connecting eastern and western Africa to the rest of the world.

Gilat Telecom also provides space segments over numerous satellites including Intelsat, Telesat, Hellas Sat, ABS, SES NewSkies and others.

Gilat Telecom is a subsidiary of The Eurocom Group.

For more information, please visit www.gilat.net