SES Broadband Services has announced that it has signed an agreement with SatADSL for the distribution of its satellite broadband service, SES Broadband, in Sub-Saharan Africa. The service will be provided via the ASTRA 4A satellite located at the orbital position of 5 degrees East.

SatADSL will start marketing SES Broadband from September 15, 2012 to provide internet access to businesses, banks, non-governmental organisations and governmental institutions in remote areas throughout Sub-Saharan Africa for critical applications such as financial transactions or reliable data transfers.

The broadband internet package includes Voice over IP (VoIP) and will offer download speeds of up to 4Mbit/s. SatADSL's service offering also enables its customers to manage their service via a Virtual Network Operator (VNO).

"More and more African countries see broadband access as a key for economic success," said Patrick Biewer, Managing Director of SES Broadband Services.

"While there are plans to increase fibre connectivity across the African continent, 300 million people find themselves over 50 kilometres from a fibre or cable broadband connection.

"An additional 400 million people on the continent have no internet access at all. Through the use of satellite technology we are able to connect the unconnected and close the digital divide."

"We are delighted about the agreement with SES Broadband Services to pioneer attractive, high-end satellite broadband services in Africa and are proud to offer specialised services and VNO capabilities at highly competitive prices," said Thierry Eltges, CEO of SatADSL.

"We are happy to facilitate the establishment of African companies outside of the densely populated areas and to create new business activities in rural areas."