[SatNews] Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT) has signed a corporate sourcing contract with France Telecom SA for the provision of satellite communications equipment.

Orange Business Services, the enterprise communications arm of France Telecom, has installed a Gilat SkyEdge II hub at their Bercenay-en-Othe teleport in France. This hub will facilitate the operation of a new cellular backhaul network in Niger. The sourcing contract signed between the two companies qualifies the SkyEdge II broadband satellite communications equipment for the Orange brand entities. This equipment covers a range of solutions such as IP/VPN, broadband access and cellular backhaul. SkyEdge II also gives Orange the advantage of network-wide Demand Assigned Multiple Access, which matches user demands to available satellite capacity and offers bandwidth savings when compared to traditional Single Channel Per Carrier based solutions. The network in Niger will be deployed in multi-star topology allowing the expansion of the GSM network coverage to remote locations. One of the advantages of this multi-star topology is that Orange Business Services can manage the network from their Bercenay teleport in France while maintaining direct, single-hop connectivity between the SkyEdge II terminals installed within the GSM network in Niger.