A new ground station is set to be built at a Free-operated data center in Senegal, satellite firm Avanti has announced. This announcement comes following the signing of a five-year partnership agreement between the two companies, through which the telco will build and host a new satellite gateway in Senegal for Avanti’s HYLAS 4 satellite. The new gateway will be built and operated from Free Senegal’s Tier III data center facility located outside the capital Dakar, in Diamniadio.
According to Avanti, this new gateway will extend the coverage of its latest HYLAS 4 satellite to Senegal. It will also reach neighboring countries Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, and Liberia. Alongside this, it will also provide satellite backhaul services to its carrier customers.
Commenting about this development, Kyle Whitehill, CEO of Avanti Communications, said: “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. We are looking forward to working with the Free team to make this vision a reality.”
Mamadou Mbengue, CEO of Free in Senegal, added: “We are delighted that Avanti has chosen Free to be their gateway partner in Senegal, recognizing the capabilities offered by the Free team and our data center facility in Diamniadio. This agreement between Avanti and Free to build the gateway and provide Ka-band satellite coverage across Senegal and the neighboring countries is a major milestone in our digital transformation agenda.”
