Aug 7 2013
Spidersat Communications Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Global and a leading provider of satellite communication services to the mining industry, announced plans to launch a new high-performance network for Africa. The new network will address the increasing demand for multi-megabit satellite connectivity to support unified communications in even the most remote areas.
The Spidersat network, currently in final stages of development, will leverage new satellite modem technology to deliver un-precedented fibre-like speeds of up to 60Mbps, with plans to upgrade performance to exceed 100Mbps. The launch will enhance ITC Global's capabilities in Africa, which already include complete satellite coverage of the continent, on-the-ground service presence in over 20 countries and major operations in Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Angola. This latest expansion is part of ITC Global's ongoing commitment to provide advanced communications solutions through both local presence and global reach.
Following its acquisition of Spidersat last year, ITC Global has been investing in new technologies that offer an enhanced portfolio of services to customers in the mining, energy, and maritime markets. ITC Global's new Africa network has been developed in close coordination with its leading partners, Intelsat and iDirect. The network is based on the most recent "Evolution" satellite modem platform from iDirect, which includes iDX 3.2 software and Exinda optimization. iDX 3.2 introduces advanced features such as Adaptive TDMA, and reduced DVB-S2 roll-off, to drive greater bandwidth efficiency, performance and availability. The deployment of iDX 3.2 will also allow ITC Global and Spidersat to introduce the powerful new X7 modem to the mining and energy markets in Africa.
ITC Global partnered with Intelsat, the world's leading satellite fleet operator, to provide capacity on the Intelsat 25 spacecraft and connectivity through the IntelsatOne terrestrial network. This was an instrumental step in enabling ITC Global to complete its infrastructure in Africa.
"I am proud to offer our customers the benefits of this new network in Africa," said Mike Hennessey, Managing Director of Spidersat. "Our engineering team has worked closely with Intelsat and iDirect to design a network that optimizes new technology features to deliver the most reliable solution available in the region today. Our clients will be able to count on increased reliability, faster speeds, and enhanced on-the-ground support. This is the first step in our roll-out of a suite of new value-add services that will take place over the next few months. This new network and enriched services provide significant advantages over the competition that differentiate Spidersat and ITC Global in the market."
"ITC Global is continuing to establish itself as a technology leader though the deployment of this network", said Rob Kilroy, Regional Vice President Sales at iDirect Technologies. "By using iDirect iDX 3.2 software, features such as Adaptive TDMA and the new X7 will set ITC Global apart in the African region. We are proud to work with ITC Global as the leading vendor in the mining sector and to leverage our innovative technology to the benefit of their customers."
"With more than 20 satellites and the IntelsatOne terrestrial network serving the communications needs of African customers, Intelsat is uniquely suited to support ITC Global's growing requirements in the mining and oil and gas sectors," said Kurt Riegelman, Intelsat’s SVP of Global Sales. "ITC Global will have the ability to eventually transition to the high-throughput, high performance Intelsat EpicNG platform, which is strategically designed to help customers efficiently expand their businesses and reach new end users."
Source: http://www.itcglobal.com/