Colombian Ministry of Communications Extends Service Agreements With Gilat
The Ministry of Communications in Colombia reportedly has extended and amended the agreements with Gilat Satellite Networks for the provision of services under the Rural Communitarian Telephony (Compartel II) and Telecentros projects for an additional one-year term, through December 2010.
The company had previously informed that these agreements were to end Dec. 31, 2009.
Gilat, as part of the amended agreement, has also agreed to transfer 300 telecenters from their present location to other sites, where no other means of communication are available.
“The extended agreement enables us to continue working towards the goal of ensuring that every Colombian is connected and informed, especially in the most remote regions of the country, which is one of the main goals of our Ministry,” informed Daniel Medina, deputy minister of technology information and communications of Colombia, in a statement. “To this end, we get involved in helping reach the less affluent Colombians, in places where no one else would assist without the help of the government and the participation and commitment of Gilat.”
Gilat Satellite Networks (News – Alert) Ltd. is a provider of products and services for satellite-based communications networks.
The company operates under three business units: Gilat Network Systems, a provider of network systems and associated professional services to service providers and operators worldwide, Spacenet Inc., a provider of managed services in North America to the business and government segments, and Spacenet Rural Communications, a provider of rural telephony and Internet access solutions to remote areas primarily in Latin America.
TMCnet in December reported that STL Ghana, a satellite service provider in Africa, has selected Gilat Satellite Networks to deliver a SkyEdge II broadband satellite network that will serve its customers throughout West Africa.
Gilat officials informed that the new network, which comprises two SkyEdge II hub stations and close to 1,000 VSATs, will be used by STL Ghana to serve the complex networking requirements of West African enterprises, health care organizations and financial services firms.
This, the company officials informed, includes a wide variety of interactive data applications such as videoconferencing, virtual private networks, VoIP services, IP multicasting and broadband Internet connectivity.
