SES Networks said Israel-based Gilat Telecom has expanded the satellite capacity, now topping more than 3 Gbps, to more locations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Gilat Telecom, which has been providing internet connectivity services for many years in Kinshasa, the capital and largest city in DRC, will expand its Internet to customers in Lubumbashi using SES Networks’ O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite fleet.

Carole Kamaitha, vice president of Africa Sales at SES Networks, said Gilat Telecom contracts more than 3 Gbps on SES Networks’ O3b satellite fleet to serve the ever-growing needs of businesses and consumers in the country.

Gilat Telecom, which offers satellite and fiber-based connectivity services in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, first deployed SES Networks’ connectivity in 2014, following the launch of the first four satellites in the O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) fleet.

SES Networks worked with Gilat to implement a diverse routing solution to further increase network uptime and availability. SES Networks placed ground terminals in multiple locations in DRC, and implemented an intelligent routing platform to enable intelligent switching across multiple satellite links resulting in high link availability.

Dan Zajicek, CEO of Gilat Telecom, said: “We chose SES Networks’ MEO Satellites because of its unique ability to rival fiber performance, without having to rely on any land-based link from a neighbouring country.”

SES Networks earlier said Timor Telecom, a telecom operator in Timor-Leste, expanded its service uptake with SES Networks by nearly 30 percent over the O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite fleet to roll out its new 4G LTE network.

TT has been using more than 1 Gbps of low latency bandwidth over the O3b MEO fleet for the past three years. The company has since upgraded service with SES Networks four times to keep up with rising demand from consumers. The company benefits from site diversity with two SES Networks terminals deployed in Dili and Baucau.