29 May 2014

Smart, the East African mobile operator, has appointed global satellite operator Avanti Communications to deliver IP backhaul services in East Africa.  

Owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Smart will deploy the satellite-based service to customers in Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. Designed to complement sub-sea fibre networks, Avanti Communications’ IP backhaul service enables operators to keep pace with market growth cost effectively. 

Abdellatif Bouziani, Group Chief Executive at Smart, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Avanti in our key markets. Its leading IP backhaul is quickly changing perceptions within the telecom industry of the quality and cost of satellite services.” 

David Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Avanti Communications, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting Smart in East Africa. Avanti’s quality and flexibility provides the security, resilience and coverage essential to support the data needs of the most demanding operators. Avanti continues to lead the market in providing backhaul services to the mobile industry.”