Gilat has announced that it is providing a broadband satellite communications network to Ethiopian Telecommunication Corp. (ETC), Ethiopia's national telecom operator.

The new network, covering hundreds of sites, will provide an upgrade to ETC's existing Gilat VSAT network and will enable ETC to deliver advanced broadband services, which include video and data-centric applications, to meet the growing demands of its enterprise and government customers. ETC will also deploy Gilat's VSATs at remote community centers nationwide to provide citizens with toll-quality telephony and reliable broadband internet access.

ETC will additionally enhance its service offering by extending the range of cellular services to the country's remote locations, through Gilat's SkyAbis cellular backhaul solution. Gilat's SkyAbis is a prepackaged solution based on the SkyEdge and SkyEdgeII multi-service platforms.

The solution enables operators to deploy hybrid networks that extend the reach of their terrestrial and cellular infrastructure to remote communities. SkyAbis features traffic optimization and dynamic bandwidth allocation for CDMA/GSM backhaul, with much higher space-segment efficiencies when compared to SCPC.

Gilat's broadband satellite communications networks have been helping improve African Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for more than 20 years.

Gilat's VSAT networks provide dependable, high-speed data networking to government agencies, banks, energy companies and citizens at thousands of sites throughout Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Angola, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Tanzania, and South Africa.

"Gilat's technology has proven to be the most reliable, and has enabled us to improve the quality of ICT in Ethiopia," said ETC's CEO, Ato Amare Amsalu. "In addition to being an excellent technology partner, we have also enjoyed outstanding service and support from Gilat for the past 12 years. We look forward to continuing to work together with Gilat to fulfill our commitment to provide advanced services that meet the critical communications requirements of our customers throughout the country."

Nir Korman, Gilat's Regional Vice President, Africa, said, "By upgrading ETC's VSAT infrastructure, we are ensuring they have the most advanced equipment and the most responsive service to meet rapidly growing regional communications needs. We are pleased to once again play a part in helping to improve the quality of life for citizens in the country."

Gilat's SkyEdge and SkyEdge II multi-service platforms enable the delivery of high-quality voice, broadband data and video services for different environments including enterprises, rural networks, cellular backhaul and government network applications. Gilat's diverse portfolio of VSATs offer service providers the most suitable product for their application needs as well as the flexibility to evolve their networks.

The newest addition to Gilat's SkyEdge II portfolio is NetEdgeTM, a dedicated solution for multi-star networks, specifically designed to meet the needs of corporate networks and cellular-backhaul applications.