Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world, is now working to bridge the digital divide and develop its economy with the help of SES Networks, one of the world’s leading commercial satellite communication companies.
Burkina Faso and SES just signed a new multi-year agreement which will enable the local administration of the African country to continue using high-speed connectivity to roll out e-government, e-education and e-health services. Connectivity to this land-locked country will be delivered via the high throughput, low latency O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite fleet, SES announced.
The agreement follows a previous development project between Luxembourg and Burkina Faso. This project, launched in 2017, aimed to improve the IT and communication infrastructure of the country. Over the past 12 months, O3b terminals have been installed in Gaoua, Bobo-Dioulasso, Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Dori to give the provinces immediate access to fiber-like connectivity.
The O3b system allows for seamless integration of a satellite with terrestrial networks, enabling integration and interconnection of wireless distribution and access points with the legacy network of the burkinabè administration (RESINA), as well as with the optical fiber backbone. The contracted speed is 600 Mbit/s, which can be further increased to meet the future needs of the country.
“Reliable high-speed connectivity is key to driving digitisation and boosting countries’ economies and opening opportunities for their people” said Steve Collar, the Chief Executive Officer of SES. “We are delighted that the Burkina Faso government has started to reap the benefits of our high-performance service and is ready to leverage the network to enhance the lives of its citizens.”
