New satellite site for regional telecoms body

  1. Posted on Tuesday 8 December 2009 - 09:00
    Kemo
    Image of Kemo
    Kemo Cham, AfricaNews reporter in Dakar, Senegal
    A second site for the Regional African Satellite Communication (RASCOM) is under construction in Gambia. The foundation stone for the site was laid Monday, at a ceremony presided over by Gambia's Vice President, Aja Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, who said: "The Gambia is proud to be associated with the lofty and commendable goals of RASCOM."
    satellite
    A Pan-African Organization established in 1993, RASCOM has the objective of creating a Pan-African connectivity network across the continent, and it has over the year’s plaid a leading role in enhancing the continent’s telecommunication infrastructure landscape.

    Prior to its formation, African countries pay millions of dollars a year through obligatory routing of intra-African telephony traffic through Europe.

    RASCOM is the product of an intergovernmental treaty-based organization with the prime objective of the provision, on a commercial basis, of the satellite capacity required for national and international public telecommunications services, including sound and television broadcasting in Africa.

    The organization presently operates by pooling and optimizing space resources leased mainly from INTELSAT. Its goal is to operate on an entirely Africa-owned regional satellite system.

    The creation of a continental satellite network resulted from a study initiated by RASCOM. And this, according to the Gambia’s vice president, is an assurance to boost Gambia’s drive towards attaining the middle income country status in line with the objectives of its national Vision 2020.

    She noted that the launch of the RASCOM Star One, earlier in December 2007, has been vital towards the continent’s resolve to promote Pan-Africanism and regional integration.

    She went on “This has added opportunities that would enable us to take full control of our affairs, including the leveraging of resources and the tapping of existing, yet largely untapped potential to promote the continent’s identity as a safe-heaven for quality investment and business.”

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