INWI of Morocco chooses Intelsat for broadband connectivity

Intelsat announced that Morocco’s INWI has signed an agreement to integrate satellite services from the Intelsat Epic^NG platform into INWI’s network.

INWI is expanding into cellular backhaul services and, following the awarding of a VSAT license by Morocco’s National Agency of Telecommunications Regulation (ANRT), is also preparing to launch broadband connectivity services. Under the new agreement, INWI will incorporate services from the Intelsat 35e satellite, enabling the mobile operator to enhance its existing network while also delivering improved performance that supports INWI’s goal to expand its business and reach new regions in the country.

“In light of our new VSAT license from Moroccan regulators, we are able to expand our operations in Morocco and throughout West Africa,” said Naoual Laabsi, VSAT Design Manager, INWI. “In order to do this, we need the ability to manage our own network and provide new solutions for customers. The Intelsat Epic^NG platform, with its high-throughput capabilities and future-proof technology, provides us the best way to reach these goals and succeed in a highly competitive market.”

“INWI is a progressive mobile operator, incorporating new technologies that support the introduction of new services and entering into expanded geographies.  As soon as Intelsat 35e becomes available, it will immediately begin supporting the INWI mission, given the backwards compatibility of the Intelsat Epic^NG design,” said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s Vice President & General Manager, Broadband. “Intelsat 35e, with its unique collection of high power wide-beams and spot-beams in C- and Ku-band is an ideal satellite for mobile operators seeking higher performance on their current satellite infrastructures.”

Intelsat 35e, part of the high-performance Intelsat Epic^NG network, is scheduled to launch and enter operations in 2017. The flexibility of the Intelsat Epic^NG open architecture and backward-compatible design enables service providers to seamlessly transition to Intelsat Epic^NG high-throughput services and immediately realize efficiency improvements. Current Intelsat Epic^NG customers are experiencing up to 165% improvements in efficiency. Using next generation hardware, Intelsat and its partners have demonstrated potential efficiency gains of up to 330%.