Connectivity in Tonga Restored by SES Networks and Digicel Following Fibre Outage

Deployment of SES Networks’ Signature Telecom Solution re-enabled mobile networks and broadband access across the South Pacific nation

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile networks and broadband access services for business and consumer customers operated by Digicel Tonga were rapidly restored across the Polynesian archipelago by SES Networks' managed services following a severe fibre outage last week, announced SES.

Under the agreement Digicel, a mobile network provider operating in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific, uses SES’s reliable and comprehensive C-band beams to deliver satellite-enabled and scalable IP transit trunk circuits between Tonga and Fiji. SES Networks’ Signature Telecom Solution enabled Digicel Tonga to ensure business critical services were available to customer across the island nation.

Connectivity in the Polynesian country was disrupted when the Tonga Cable System, an 827-kilometre-long fibre optic submarine cable that links Sopu in Tonga and Suva in Fiji, was cut in two places on 20 January. The cable cuts occurred in relatively shallow offshore water, and it has been suggested that the damage may have been caused by a ship’s anchor, negatively impacting education, commerce and tourism.

“We are extremely proud to deliver reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity to nations that experience unexpected outages, so that their citizens can continue with daily communications and business activities uninterruptedly,” said Imran Malik Khan, VP, Global Fixed Data Sales at SES Networks. “We have worked closely together with Digicel in the past in the Asia Pacific region, and now we’re able to implement together our Signature Telecom Solution in a record time in Tonga. We are especially pleased to help Tongan people get back online while efforts to repair the Tonga Cable System cable are taking place.”

“Our job always is to ensure that our customers are as connected as possible. We have been hugely helped in that by SES Networks who provided a reliable and flexible solution that could help us overcome the challenges faced when trying to get our mobile networks and broadband access up and running where and when we needed it in the shortest possible time.,” said Francis Thomsen, CEO at Digicel Tonga. “Our customers have an alternative path to access data services at all times through SES’ satellite fleet and the peace of mind that Digicel is always working to keep them connected.”

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About SES

SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in two different orbits, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). It provides a diverse range of customers with global video distribution and data connectivity services through two business units: SES Video and SES Networks. SES Video reaches over 351 million TV homes, through Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms and cable, terrestrial, and IPTV networks globally. The SES Video portfolio includes MX1, a leading media service provider offering a full suite of innovative services for both linear and digital distribution, and the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest DTH television reach in Europe. SES Networks provides global managed data services, connecting people in a variety of sectors including telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. The SES Networks portfolio includes GovSat, a 50/50 public-private partnership between SES and the Luxembourg government, and O3b, the only non-geostationary system delivering fibre-like broadband services today. Further information is available at: www.ses.com

About Digicel

Digicel Group is a total communications and entertainment provider with operations in 31 markets throughout the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets, including Digicel Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programs.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.

Contacts

SES
Markus Payer
Corporate Communications & PR
Tel. +352 710 725 500
Markus.Payer@ses.com

Connectivity in Tonga Restored by SES Networks and Digicel Following Fibre Outage (Photo: Business Wire)