The new gateway will provide low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services to several countries in the region and will facilitate the provision of high-speed, low latency connectivity to businesses, governments, schools, clinics and hospitals in underserved areas.
OneWeb says this is the first of several planned gateways in Africa.
Michele Franci, Chief of Delivery & Operations at OneWeb says: “When considering the size and persistence of the digital divide, and the connectivity barriers for businesses operating in rural or remote areas, the need for LEO satellite options are obvious. On a global scale, mobile internet penetration is still only 50% and many of those who remain offline reside in Africa.
“By installing OneWeb teleports linked to hundreds of LEO satellites, we can bridge that divide effectively and affordably.
“We have chosen to partner with Paratus Angola because the group is rooted in Africa; it totally understands and invests in meeting market demands; and because Paratus is committed to transforming African connectivity through exceptional digital infrastructure.”
The agreement, combined with the recent launch of the Paratus fibre connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the inauguration of its data centres in Zambia and Namibia and coverage of all of the Angolan provinces, means Paratus has the infrastructure to provide a highly sophisticated network hub in Angola.
“With this agreement, we are taking another giant step in realising our plan to use Angola as a communications hub for the region,” Rolf Mendelsohn, chief technical officer of Paratus Group added.
“Being selected as the preferred partner to install the gateway in Angola for OneWeb reaffirms our superior capability in developing world-class telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.”
