Satellite contract: Local company signs $134m deal with NewSat

Pakistan may be gearing up for rollout of 3G and 4G networks: analyst.


Express August 29, 2011

KARACHI: Satellite provider NewSat has signed a 10-year contract worth $134 million with Pakistani telecommunication company, 3A Technology, to provide it with satellite capacity following a similar $105 million deal earlier this month.

Pakistani companies may be gearing up for the rollout of 3G and 4G networks, according to an analyst. Special satellites – with the capacity for supporting both 3G and 4G bands – will be used for a cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The satellites may also be there to help expand the range of the network and allow for more remote areas to pick up the signals, analyst added.

NewSat is planning to launch the satellite, Jabiru-1, in 2012. It will be a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band satellite, which will provide coverage over South-East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

3A Technology president Ali Ather will use the capacity to provide services to companies such as Mobilink, Pak Datacom and the Pakistan government in areas of the Middle East with previously poor coverage, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, ZDNet.com.au reported on Monday.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan have poor terrestrial connectivity and rapidly growing consumer, business and government markets for internet, voice and secure data. Our large banking customers, along with mobile and broadband operators, rely on our satellite communications to support their network expansions and future business growth,” he was quoted as saying.

NewSat said that the capacity would also be used for cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to support the roll-out of 3G and 4G networks.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th,  2011.

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