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Intelsat, a leading satellite communications provider, said today that it has extended its agreement with Sonema, a VSAT satellite company, to support enterprise networks across Africa.

Under the multi-year agreement, Intelsat said Sonema will integrate C-band connectivity from the Intelsat 33e satellite at 60° East to expand services to more remote regions of Africa. The arrangement will allow Sonema to provide customized solutions, with a focus on robustness and high quality of experience to its customers.

“From our long history of serving customers in Africa, we know that enterprise customers need access to highly reliable and more effective bandwidth to meet growing demands,” said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “This agreement ensures that Sonema’s customers will be able to expand their operations knowing that each of their sites will have access to the same level of reliable broadband connectivity, regardless of location.”

Founded in 1985, Monaco-based Sonema supports over 650 VSAT sites for banking and financial institutions across Africa. The company provides communications services that power funds transfer, card services, and banking software. The majority of Sonema’s networks are supported by C-band services from Intelsat 14, located at 315° East, and Intelsat 904, located at 60° East.

“The banking sector is a major growth engine for Africa. As such, our customers depend on the highly reliable and secured corporate networks we deploy and maintain for them,” said Catherine Delom, Managing Director of Sonema. “Intelsat has provided us high-quality, dependable satellite connectivity for years. The Intelsat EpicNG platform will also enable the option to offer our customers new, innovative solutions and services that can be easily delivered via C-band and Ku-band spot beams to the most remote locations.”

Based in Luxembourg, Intelsat operates the world’s largest satellite backbone with a fleet of 50 satellites plus teleports that delivers high-quality broadband connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications and seamless mobility services anywhere in the world.