[SatNews] Gateway Communications, the largest provider of carrier solutions in Africa, is launching CellDirect, a new addition to its Africa Direct product line.

CellDirect will improve satellite utilization for mobile network operators (MNOs), increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Satellite tests for the service started on August 12th and the product will formally be launched at Capacity Africa in Nairobi on the September 21st. The new CellDirect solution uses Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) technology, which makes use of a sophisticated bandwidth manager to allocate satellite capacity — based on time, frequency, and which type of capacity is available in order to meet demands. Any MNO who uses satellite to connect cell sites can now do so more cost effectively whilst also being able to monitor each link from a single platform, something few were able to do previously. Benefits come as customers are charged at an average data rate per link instead of the more usual peak data rate. This means any users will immediately see the benefits in their monthly bill. Gateway Communications has fully invested in the technology removing the difficult issue for MNOs of making the large commercial commitment and having to wait several years before seeing any return on investment. Gateway Communications anticipates that CellDirect will have more and more applications in the African market as MNOs increasingly look to address the needs of a lower ARPU customer base.