African mobile telecoms service provider Gateway Communications announced it has been selected by Etisalat to provide a cellular backhaul for the operator’s mobile network in Nigeria.

The deal, worth USD6 million over a two year term, will see Gateway Communications provide satellite cellular backhaul to Etisalat, which will connect three major cities in Nigeria. Gateway claims that ,with more than 47 transponders of capacity, it carries more satellite cellular backhaul in Africa than any other operator. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Etisalat commercially launched its Nigerian mobile network in seven cities in November 2008 and by the end of the year had just under 400,000 subscribers. The cellco is 40 percent-owned by UAE incumbent Etisalat, with 30 percent owned by UAE government investment vehicle Mubadala Development Company, and the remainder by Nigerian investors.