By Technology Times Reporter
Lagos: April 8, 2013: Hughes Network Systems, a leading broadband satellite solutions and managed network services company, have been awarded a key contract with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Under the terms of the deal, Hughes will expand managed satellite services for the AfDB and also to provide MPLS connectivity in the region to the bank with headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and operating from its Temporary Relocation Agency in Tunis, Tunisia.
 AfDB has been a Hughes managed services customer since 2008, employing a primary communications network of broadband satellite terminals installed in 32 AfDB field offices throughout Africa, the US satellite company says.
The expanded contract calls for Hughes to provide MPLS circuits at four AfDB sites, with backhaul (STM1) services to Tunisian headquarters from a teleport in Germany. Major applications include SAP, VoIP, video conferencing and high-speed Internet access.
David Wu, Director, AfDB says that, “Hughes has been a valued managed services provider to AfDB for many years. Their superior pro-active monitoring and field services have earned my trust. My team can call on one trusted source which allows them to focus on our core competency — banking IT. We count on the continued support of Hughes and plan to integrate Hughes into our portfolio of telecommunications service providers we present to our clients.”
Kamran Givpoor, vice president of Global Managed Services at Hughes, adds that the company is proud to have earned AfDB’s trust “and to be chosen as a valued partner in meeting their entire wide area network needs.”
AfDB has stringent requirements for their network including: high availability; uniform SLA and QoS offerings; a single vendor to provide full turnkey managed services and ongoing system engineering, installation and field maintenance; monthly reporting, statistics and quarterly reviews on usage and performance and 24 x 7 multi-lingual help desk.
AfDB Group is a multi-lateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and the social progress of African countries.
The Group comprises three entities including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).
The AfDB Group is one of the five major multilateral development banks in the world that provides assistance to its regional member countries with a view to helping them achieve their development goals.
Combating poverty is at the heart of the AfDB’s effort to assist the continent to attain sustainable economic growth. The AfDB Group seeks to stimulate and mobilize internal and external resources to promote investments as well as provide Regional Member Countries (RMCs) with technical assistance.
The AfDB Group supports policy reforms, capacity building, knowledge sharing, studies and preparation of development projects. The AfDB’s strategic areas include: the private sector, supporting economic and governance reforms; promoting higher education, technology and vocational training; and promoting regional integration.
Through these core investment areas the AfDB Group provides support for fragile states, low income countries, middle-income countries, agriculture and rural development, social and human development, the environment and climate change, and gender issues.
HughesNet is the number one high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 3.3 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing over 50 percent market share, the company says.
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