March 26, 2018
MDXI a subsidiary of MainOne has partnered with Avanti
Communications Group Plc to host and manage the
satellite operator’s in-country Gateway Earth Station
(GES). The partnership has already delivered the
commissioning of Avanti’s first GES in West Africa,
hosted at MDXI’s satellite farm in Lagos. The project,
which has seen Avanti invest up to USD 20 million in the
Nigerian Gateway, will ensure data from the HYLAS 4
Ka-band satellite is delivered efficiently in-country
and interconnected with other networks. The HYLAS 4
Ka-band satellite will deliver High Throughput
Satellite (HTS) connectivity to complement the country’s
existing fibre-optic networks, ensuring access is
available to enable high-speed internet everywhere, even
to the most remote and rural locations.
Applications that will be supported by this Avanti’s 3rd
Ka-band satellite include satellite broadband services
for homes and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), rural
schools, large enterprises and government agencies and
cellular backhaul for 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks.
Avanti already has an established track record deploying
such services via existing satellites across East and
Southern Africa as well across Europe and the Middle
East.
Avanti’s efforts in Nigeria will also include the
deployment of its Every Community Online (ECO)
initiative, with built-in Wi-Fi hotpots in schools,
communities and government agencies, especially in the
underserved and remote parts of the country where power
availability and connectivity services remain a
challenge. In addition, the satellite operator will take
advantage of MainOne’s extensive coverage to extend its
market reach across nine countries in West Africa.
Avanti’s technology has been proven to deliver
sustainable digital inclusion by delivering
terrestrial-quality, affordable and superfast satellite
broadband services. Given the satellite’s footprint
across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, the services
provided will greatly enhance eGovernment, eLearning,
eCommerce, eHealth and eBanking services in rural areas
among others. The new satellite will also offer support
to oil and gas companies and enable coverage to remote
Onshore, Offshore and Deep Offshore locations.
MDXI has been chosen to launch this project in West
Africa based on its capability to deliver
mission-critical data centre services and provide
extensive interconnection with other operators, Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) and the Nigerian Internet
Exchange. Speaking on the agreement, General Manager of
MDXI, Gbenga Adegbiji said “As a carrier-neutral data
centre enabling multiple local, regional and global
networks in West Africa, Avanti’s choice of MDXI was
inevitable. Working closely with Avanti, our engineers
have already implemented a bespoke colocation solution
to support the largest Gateway Earth Station in the
region with uninterrupted power, connectivity and
security to ensure 24/7/365 operations. While
ineffective distribution of available bandwidth inland
continues to hinder Nigeria’s broadband targets, our
partnership with Avanti provides Nigeria the opportunity
to make accelerated broadband expansion possible via
satellite, to overcome last-mile gaps experienced in
fibre infrastructure and enable the attainment of 30%
broadband penetration target in the National Broadband
Plan.”
Dave Bestwick, Chief Technology Officer at Avanti
Communications, explained that the project would
guarantee employment opportunities in ICT, engineering
and communications to indigenes, as well as enable a
huge leap towards economic growth in the ICT sector in
Nigeria. “We are delighted to be partnering with MainOne
and MDXI, to rollout satellite broadband services across
Nigeria and West Africa. Avanti’s products will greatly
complement MainOne’s existing network and provide
reliable broadband connectivity to places within the
region without terrestrial fibre connectivity. We look
forward to expanding our collaboration in serving the
people of Nigeria with market-leading products.”
