Belgian Development Agency Partners with SES to Connect Foreign Aid Projects in Africa via Satellite
Satellite-enabled solutions will bring connectivity in remote locations, improving the lives of thousands of people
Brussels / Luxembourg, 12 February 2020 – The Belgian development agency Enabel and SES, a leader in global content connectivity solutions, will deliver satellite-based communications for the development and foreign aid projects spearheaded by the Belgian and other European governments. Under the multi-year framework contract awarded following a public tender, SES will bring managed end-to-end connectivity infrastructure and services to over 130 sites to support Enabel and development projects in 20 countries across Africa.
The end-to-end connectivity solution delivered by SES will be supporting Enabel in its goal of providing partners with the right digital solutions and latest technologies. The connectivity will power Enabel’s projects and activities, further reinforcing the agency’s commitment to the ‘Digital for Development’ policy (D4D) of the Belgian Development Cooperation and of the European Commission, the Principles for Digital Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As part of the solution, SES will provide antennae, installation, satellite bandwidth and end-to-end services to allow Enabel and its partners to upgrade the skills of African professionals, elevate the healthcare system and improve the people’s living conditions.
“At Enabel, we believe that digitalisation and the benefits it brings serve as a catalyst for development. Access to high-bandwidth connectivity is essential for our projects in remote locations as it allows us to deploy critically important tools. We are delighted to find in SES a reliable partner who shares these values and has the right expertise,” said Jean Van Wetter, Managing Director of Enabel. “SES’s ability to quickly deploy a high-performance communications infrastructure and service, and their track record of working with governments around the world, make them the best fitting partner to support the nations in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.”
“Many countries in Africa are characterised by vast or landlocked territories, making it difficult to deploy extensive terrestrial communications infrastructure,” said Nicole Robinson, Senior Vice President of Global Government at SES Networks, the data-centric business unit of SES. “We are incredibly proud and humbled to provide Enabel with connectivity so that training programmes and various critical applications can be deployed, and quality of life in remote locations can be improved.”
For further information please contact:
Suzanne Ong
External Communications
Tel. +352 710 725 500
[email protected]
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About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s video network carries over 8,300 channels and has an unparalleled reach of over 355 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com
About Enabel
Enabel is the Belgian development agency. It implements and coordinates Belgium’s international development policy and primarily works for the Belgian State. The agency also implements actions for other national and international donors. Enabel manages about 150 projects, mostly in fragile states in Africa. Enabel has 1,500 staff, of which more than 70 % is local personnel. For more information, visit www.enabel.be