O3b Networks signs deal with Mavoni Technologies, South Africa to provide fast and reliable connectivity to municipalities and educational institutions

31 May 2011

O3b Networks has signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with Mavoni Technologies Africa, a leading provider of information technology in South Africa focused on enterprise IT solutions and outsourcing services to the corporate and public service sectors.

South Africa has the most developed telecommunications infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa with multiple submarine cable networks and an extensive national fiber network. However, while users in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town can enjoy high-speed broadband, users in the more remote areas are still largely disconnected from the global internet backbone.

“In choosing to work with O3b Networks, Mavoni Technologies is now better positioned to bring end to end, cost effective IP broadband connectivity services to government municipalities and schools located in poorly served areas of South Africa. Mavoni Technologies intends to cooperate with various government agencies to help them achieve universal service objectives and have selected O3b Networks as their strategic connectivity partner. We are pleased to work with such an organization and look forward to supporting them to deliver a quality and sustainable product to their end customers.” said John Finney, Chief Commercial Officer, O3b Networks.

“Our mission as an organization is to help our clients turn knowledge and innovation into real value. Through this partnership with O3b, we are going to deliver high-speed connectivity at fiber like speeds to places like Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. These are traditionally areas that fiber networks are not able to reach. In partnership with the provincial government of Limpopo, we intend to connect more than 500 schools in rural areas. We are also working with the Department of Education in Northern Cape Province to provide connectivity to over 1,500 schools. This will impact the lives of more than 185,000 students.” said Tinyiko Valoyi, CEO of Mavoni Technologies.