CAIRO: United Arab Emirates leading telecommunications company Etisalat announced on Tuesday that it was boosting its capacity on Intelsat 22, to be launched next month in an effort to boost its presence in Africa. The Abu Dhabi-based company said in a press release that the new multi-transponder agreement will “utilize the satellite's capacity to expand the reach of its broadband and GSM backhaul services to its customers in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and central Asia.” “As the leading provider of connectivity in the Middle East, Etisalat will now be able to expand the reach of its broadband and GSM backhaul services to new regions across the globe,” said Ali Amiri, executive vice president of carrier and wholesale services for Etisalat. “This important agreement will provide Etisalat with the capability to meet the growing communications requirements of our customers.” The push into Africa has been a prime moving point for Etisalat already in early 2012. The company believes that it can offer more telecom infrastructure and mobile phone capacity in the African continent through its own offerings and expansive network that already spans three continents. “We continue to work closely with premier telecommunications providers like Etisalat to help them expand their global footprint,” said Jean Philippe Gillet, Intelsat's regional vice president of sales for Europe and the Middle East. “Intelsat 22 is the first of five satellites expected to launch in 2012 that will provide additional capacity over key regions like the Middle East, Africa and Asia.” According to the companies joint statement, the new coverage will help boost its services in East Africa especially through the Indian Ocean, “which will blanket vital maritime and aeronautical routes.” In addition, Intelsat 22 will have Ku-band capacity serving the Middle East and East Africa. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/DAGde Tags: Africa, Etisalat, Telecom, UAE Section: Africa, Latest News, Tech, United Arab Emirates
