Eutelsat's new 'IP Easy' service for Africa

May 21, 2012

Eutelsat Communications  announced the entry into service of its new 'IP Easy' broadband platform built to extend high-speed Internet access to residential and home office users as well as small and medium-sized enterprises across sub-Saharan Africa.

Combining the strengths of Ku-band capacity on the recently-launched EUTELSAT 16A satellite with Newtec's successful Sat3Play® technology, IP Easy is available in a service area stretching from the Gulf of Guinea to Madagascar. The service delivers downlink speeds of up to 4Mbps and can be configured to support VOIP and satellite reception of TV channels in triple play mode. The selection of Newtec's Sat3Play® product which uses Point&Play self-installation also enables end users to autonomously install the complete system with no specific qualification needed or expensive tooling.

The hub for IP Easy is located at Eutelsat's teleport in Sardinia (Italy) which has been developed in particular to provide broadband services for users in Africa thanks to its location in the south of Europe. The teleport benefits from direct access to the Internet backbone via key Points of Presence in Europe.

For Jean-François Leprince-Ringuet, Commercial Director at Eutelsat: "With the launch of IP Easy, we are leveraging the footprint of EUTELSAT 16A and the proven performance of Newtec's technology to deliver heavy-user consumers, SoHos and SMEs in Africa a quality broadband service that matches their needs in terms of performance and cost-efficiency. IP Easy responds to pent-up demand for broadband from the many users beyond terrestrial networks and adds a new layer of diversity to our portfolio of services for the African continent."