Speedcast announced that it won a multi-million dollar contract to provide satellite cellular backhaul services to Alpha Télécommunication Mali (ATEL), part of Planor Afrique Group, provider of the newest third-generation mobile network in Mali, Africa.
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Through the agreement, Speedcast will use satellite to connect all remote areas of the country to the Bamako main core infrastructure, allowing millions of potential consumers to benefit from Telecel voice and data services. “We chose Speedcast as our satellite solutions provider for its impressive track record and its world class quality of service. ATEL aims to become a leader in Mali and needs a best-in-class solution to support its subscribers,” said Souleymane Diallo, CEO, ATEL Mali. “Speedcast’s cellular backhaul suite of solutions are designed to optimize satellite traffic in telecommunication environments, lowering the total cost of ownership and bringing unrivalled quality of service to our customers’ networks,” said Erwan Emilian, EVP Enterprise & Emerging Markets, Speedcast. “Speedcast’s recent successes in Africa have demonstrated its technology leadership in the region.” ATEL is Mali’s third cellular license holder and has plans to invest $200 million to service the market, which will be able to support up to five million users. After successfully completing testing on calls, ATEL finalized a full commercial launch of the 3G cellular network, which will operate under the brand name Telecel.
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