Bahrain’s Batelco has signed an MoU with satellite provider Viasat to distribute satellite broadband connectivity to businesses in the Middle East and North Africa.
The agreement is to leverage Viasat’s existing satellite broadband capacity as well as capacity from the new ViaSat-3 satellite platform, once launched and operational. The companies say they are set to implement a proof-of-concept trial within the next few months. This will explore a range of connectivity solutions including hybrid connectivity combining satellite and terrestrial broadband for businesses; corporate local area network extension services; satellite connectivity for mobile backhaul; and B2B IoT applications.
“By signing a MOU with Batelco, we can strategically explore various business synergies and collaborations with a proven market leader in the MENA region — ahead of the launch of our next-generation ViaSat-3 satellite constellation,” noted Peter Langkilde, GM of Broadband Services Europe, Middle East and Africa at Viasat. “We recognize Batelco shares a similar customer philosophy — to deliver a superior customer experience — and we’re looking forward to working with them to discover new opportunities for our advanced B2B broadband services.”