Unique satellite fleet to deliver affordable broadband to Africa, the Middle East and beyond.
The vast inlands of Africa are rich in oil and diamonds, but among the poorest communications infrastructures on earth. Rough terrain and regulations are formidable foes to the expansion of fiber from the coastal regions. Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia are just a few of Africa’s interior nations embarking on a new path to faster broadband connectivity and the economic prosperity it can bring.
Isolated, landlocked countries from the center of Africa to the heart of Afghanistan, Iraq and Brazil’s Amazon region are preparing to connect with O3b. Even oil rigs off the Nigerian coast will soon be better served by O3b’s bountiful bandwidth.
O3b combines the reach of satellite with the speed of fiber at a price capable of making the Internet a truly global experience.
“O3b delivers more bandwidth at lower latencies and costs than ever before,” explained Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks, the largest Ka-band satellite operator in the world. “That’s a winning formula for telecom service providers determined to meet the growing demand for broadband in the countries, regions and communities they serve.”
O3b was developed to deliver high-speed connectivity to the underserved markets around the world. Already one-third of O3b’s capacity is sold, more than a year ahead of the launch of its initial constellation of eight Medium Earth Orbit satellites in early 2013.
More Bandwidth
At least 20 per cent of the IP Trunking traffic across Africa and the Middle East is delivered today over standard geostationary satellites at a price significantly higher than O3b’s new IP Trunking solution. Scheduled to be introduced in November, O3b Trunk is a scalable, bundled offering to deliver affordable, fiber-like capacity anywhere within 45 degrees of the equator.
“Telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers simply select the speed of the connection they want and we provide them with the fully-managed O3b Trunk solution,” noted John Finney, Chief Commercial Officer for O3b. The new O3b Trunk service offers up a wide variety of broadband capacity options, from 100Mbps to 1.2Gbps.
“O3b Trunk delivers unparalleled bandwidth flexibility, enabling providers to expand their services as market demand grows,” Finney said. “Our offering of more bandwidth, lower latency and affordable pricing is eliminating the primary barriers to connectivity and growth in the emerging and underserved markets,” added Finney.
Opening New Doors of Opportunity
One in a growing lineup of O3b customers, Vizada Networks will utilize O3b capacity to deliver Internet access across the African continent. Vizada will combine mobile backhaul with trunking and next generation VSAT services to bring African customers more connectivity options and reduced costs.
In South Africa, provider Mavoni Technologies is going to deliver highly-anticipated connectivity at fiber-like speeds to the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. Nearly 2,000 rural schools alone will be connected.
Etisalat already serves more than 100 million customers across Africa, the Middle East and Asia and is now in a position to meet long-term capacity demands after inking a deal with O3b to offer tailored regional solutions.
Off the coast of Nigeria, Netcom Africa will utilize O3b bandwidth to better serve oil and gas rigs in the Niger Delta. O3b’s higher throughput and lower prices will enable a whole new level of broadband services aboard the offshore platforms.
Providers around the world are signing on with O3b. Brazilian services provider Ozonio, for example, will deliver Internet access to the Amazon region, where communities have been left out of Brazil’s national broadband plan. O3b is really on to something new and exciting, regional Amazon officials have proclaimed. It’s a sentiment shared by countries, communities and companies worldwide.
“O3b is providing a solution that no one else can deliver,” noted Finney. “It’s a unique combination of unmatched bandwidth and cost effectiveness that makes O3b so compelling for so many telcos and network service providers around the globe.”
Counting Down to the O3b Launch
With the introduction of O3b Trunk complete and the launch of O3b’s initial constellation fast approaching, O3b is implementing seven strategic global gateways around the world. The first two teleports are under construction in Greece and Hawaii.
“There is a real sense of excitement as we get closer to the launch of O3b,” noted Collar, referencing a customer lineup expected to number in the dozens by liftoff. And the company’s vision of closing the bandwidth gap is on the cusp of reality. “Our ability to help whole countries, communities and companies tap into a connected future is the main reason people work at O3b,” Collar said.
And it’s the biggest reason telecom and service providers have already staked their claim to O3b capacity, ready to elevate their businesses and their customers in an increasingly connected world.
For more information about O3b Networks or O3b Trunk, visit www.o3bnetworks.com
