Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications has signed a framework agreement with its distribution partner InterSat to provide connectivity services to the Post Office in Côte d’Ivoire.
The multi-year agreement will enable the connection of about 170 post offices throughout the country. All the post offices will be equipped with konnect Wifi hotspots in white zones (where coverage is poor), enabling the Post Office to offer broadband solutions to its local customers.
Eutelsat says that, in the future, the scope of this operation could be expanded to 3,000 parcel points (known as Point Relais) throughout the country.
Leveraging the recently operational Eutelsat Konnect high-throughput satellite, the roll-out of the service starts this month and continues over a six-month period.
With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat says it enables clients across video, data, government, and fixed and mobile broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location.
Isaac Gnamba Yao, CEO of La Poste, Côte d’Ivoire, said: “In addition to its statutory mission of providing a universal postal service for the transport of mail and other related services, the Post Office in Côte d'Ivoire has now added the task of facilitating access to the internet for rural populations.”
This is not the first time the role of satellite communications in advancing both rural communications and supporting postal services has been highlighted in an African context. In November last year we reported that Senegal’s postal authority had signed an agreement with satellite communication service provider Spacecom.
The deal will help the public company in charge of postal services in Senegal to provide internet services to the country’s rural population.
