Intelsat announced new contracts with customers utilizing Intelsat's premier African video distribution satellite neighborhoods and broadband capacity yesterday. According to a press release by the company, Intelsat's history of providing a reliable communications infrastructure to Africa over the past 40 years has resulted in many firsts on the continent. “From introducing direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, to supporting reliable broadband in remote regions, Intelsat's satellite network has been a springboard for technology advancement in Africa, supporting the continent's socioeconomic development,” said Intelsat's SVP of Global Sales, Kurt Riegelman. “As we prepare to launch three satellites in 2012 that will provide incremental capacity to the region, we look forward to supporting the continued growth of our customers.” Pay-TV platform operator Multichoice Africa Limited has expanded its commitment for capacity onboard Intelsat 904. This new agreement compliments the company's DTH capacity on Intelsat7. Intelsat currently has 22 sattelites in operation, representing a multi-billin dollar investment in the African region. Over the next 10 months, Intelsat plans to launch three new satellites; Intelsat 20, 22 and 23. Intelsat's Managing Director for Africa, Jonathan Osler, is positive of the future f the company and the contributions Intelsat has made over the years in the region. “Intelsat's commitment to the African business community is unparalleled,” said Osler. “Nearly 200 companies on the continent, including virtually all of the region's wireless operators, trust our highly reliable network to provide the infrastructure they need to offer best-in-class services to their customers.” “We also continue to build on our strong history of training our customers' engineers and technicians across Africa as part of the industry's overall effort to reduce interference,” Osler concluded. BM
