It's no small task to provide telecommunications to Nepal, a country with a population of nearly 30 million with some very remote locations. Enter — Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. [Nasdaq:GILT] and the news of its selection by Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL), a telecommunications consultancy and engineering company, to provide Nepal Telecom (Nepal Doorsanchar Nigam Ltd.) with a SkyEdge broadband satellite communications network that covers hundreds of sites.

Nepal Telecom will use the new VSAT network to deliver broadband Internet connectivity to remote areas and to provide toll-quality telephony to rural citizens, meeting its Universal Service Obligations.

"With a landscape of mountainous terrain and remote villages, Nepalese geography represents one of the most formidable challenges for providing dependable telecom services," said Mr. Anoop Ranjan Bhattarai, Director of Nepal Telecom's Satellite Service Department. "We are confident that Gilat's advanced VSAT technology and customer support ideally suits our demanding requirements, in addition to helping us extend our cellular services to rural Nepal." Photo credit http://www.lonelyplanet.com

Nepal Telecom has also chosen Gilat's SkyAbis cellular backhaul solution to extend the range of GSM and CDMA services for Nepal's cellular operators. Gilat's SkyAbis is a prepackaged solution for cellular backhaul, based on the SkyEdge multi-service platform. The solution enables operators to deploy hybrid networks that extend the reach of their terrestrial and cellular infrastructure to remote communities. SkyAbis features traffic optimization and dynamic bandwidth allocation for CDMA/GSM backhaul, with much higher space-segment efficiencies when compared to SCPC.

Mr. Vimal Wakhlu, Executive Director, TCIL, said, "We are pleased to have partnered with Gilat for this important project. By incorporating Gilat's advanced VSAT platform as part of the solution, Nepal Telecom will benefit from a low total cost of ownership solution while offering customers high-performance connectivity and a diverse range of services."

N. Ranganathan, Gilat Network System's RVP, Asia, said, "This is another example of how Gilat partners with its customers to provide solutions that cater to their specific requirements. In this case, Gilat is providing its advanced satellite communications and cellular backhaul technology, enabling Nepal Telecom to extend the range of cellular services and provide voice and broadband data connectivity nationwide, improving the quality of life for citizens in the country's remote locations."

Gilat's SkyEdge is a satellite communications system that delivers high-quality voice, broadband data and video services over a powerful unified system. SkyEdge represents Gilat's extensive knowledge base and field-proven product offering, acquired through two decades of experience. SkyEdge's flexible architecture and efficient space segment utilization make it an ideal platform for operators and service providers.