Alcatel has signed a contract with RascomStar-QAF, the pan-African satellite service operator, to develop and produce the ground segment for its optimized rural telephony network.
According to the release note, this network slated for service entry at the end of 2006, will allow the telecom operators representing African countries to propose services needed by isolated populations, in particular in rural zones.
The contract covers the development, production, installation and support during the launch phase of the Rascom (Regional African Satellite Communication Organization) ground network. RascomStar-QAF will be handling operations using its Rascom-QAF 1 satellite built by Alcatel Space, currently being integrated at the company’s plant of Cannes in southern France.
This pan-African network will include a redundant platform for overall traffic control, gateways allowing network integration with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) of each African member-country, and user terminals that can be solar powered. It will support the operation of 150,000 terminals disseminated on the whole African continent, including 25,000 that can communicate simultaneously.
‘We are very pleased with our increasing involvement in setting up the Rascom system, dedicated to Africa,’ emphasized Pascale Sourisse, Chairman and CEO of Alcatel Space. ‘This ambitious project is a natural fit with our businesses, since we believe that everybody should enjoy access to the resources needed to communicate. After winning the Rascom-QAF satellite contract, we are proud to be able to contribute our experience in terrestrial networks to this tight-knit partnership with Rascom and African telecom operators.’
2005-06-30
Em Foco – Opinião