SES WORLD SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), announced Solomon Telekom has signed an agreement for satellite capacity to extend its broadband services across the Solomon Islands. As part of the multiyear, multi-million-dollar deal, SES WORLD SKIES will provide half a transponder aboard its NSS-9 satellite to enable Solomon Telekom to significantly increase Internet and wireless access throughout the Melanesian country of approximately 520,000 people.

Expanded Internet service, set to start on January 1, 2010, will be deployed over the spacecraft’s West Hemi beam carrying access speeds up to 30 Mbps between Australia and the Solomon Islands capital city of Honiara. As the telco expands wireless services throughout the Solomon Islands, it will have the capacity to do so by initiating satellite IP backhaul over NSS-9.