‘Broadband for Africa’ High Throughput Satellite to be launched in 2019 – Photo credit: Thales Alenia Space
London, Paris, 21 June 2016 – Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) and InfraMed have entered into an agreement whereby InfraMed becomes a c.21% shareholder in ‘Broadband for Africa’, the venture set up by Eutelsat to provide satellite broadband services on the African continent. By investing in ‘Broadband for Africa’, InfraMed is pursuing its strategy to focus on opportunities in regions characterised by dynamic demographics and infrastructure insufficiency.
Laurent Grimaldi, CEO of ‘Broadband for Africa’ commented: “In leveraging state-of-the-art satellite technologies, ‘Broadband for Africa’ will offer telcos, Internet Service Providers and government agencies a quality solution that enables more Africans to get online. We welcome InfraMed as a shareholder and look forward to benefiting from its track record of successful infrastructure investments.”
About Broadband for Africa
Set up by Eutelsat in 2015, ‘Broadband for Africa’ will deploy affordable, high-quality broadband connectivity in Africa using, in the first phase, leased Ka-band capacity on Spacecom’s AMOS-6 satellite, and in the second phase, resources on its own dedicated High Throughput Satellite that will be launched in 2019. ‘Broadband for Africa’ will develop direct-to-user consumer and enterprise broadband services and address the market for community networks connected to Wi-Fi hotspots, mobile phone backhauling and rural connectivity.
About InfraMed
InfraMed is a €385 million long-term investment vehicle dedicated to infrastructure in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. InfraMed was jointly created in 2010 by five major investors: Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Caisse des Dépôts et de Consignations, the European Investment Bank, Caisse de Dépôts et de Gestion, EFG Hermes.
For more about InfraMed visit www.inframed.com
Contact: yousra.khayati@inframed.com
About Eutelsat Communications
Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.
Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.
Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.
For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com
Press
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