Kenya Commercial Bank Selects Gilat's SkyEdge Satellite Network

Nairobi, Kenya: Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has announced it has been selected by Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. (KCB) to provide a SkyEdge II broadband satellite network. KCB is a leading commercial banking group in East Africa, with branches and ATMs in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Southern Sudan. It will use the new VSAT network for both primary enterprises networking connectivity, as well as for back-up in branches that have existing broadband connectivity. The SkyEdge II network will be integrated with KCB's communication network and will provide immediate backup services to sites where the terrestrial infrastructure fails.

The SkyEdge II network meets the mission-critical application requirements of the financial-services industry, such as those specified by KCB, including high-speed connectivity for banking applications, voice over IP telephony, and high-throughput file transfers. Advanced Quality of Service (QoS) is used to prioritize and ensure that the required network resources are available for the critical applications.

"Gilat's advanced SkyEdge II platform offers us cutting-edge technology for our advanced banking needs," said Dr. Tony Githuku, Head of Information Technology, KCB. "It excels in its support for our critical applications, such as data and voice, as well as in a low Total Cost of Ownership. Gilat's experienced support team will provide remote monitoring and management of the network, in addition to seamless integration with our existing infrastructure. These were critical factors for our selection of Gilat."

The installation and maintenance of the Gilat equipment as well as the space segment for this new network will be provided by iWayAfrica, previously AFSAT, the largest satellite broadband provider in Africa. iWayAfrica has over 15 years of experience in building VSAT networks in Africa and deliver their satellite service to a substantial customer base of corporates and banks including KCB.

"We are honored that KCB chose to use iWayAfrica to help support the new VSAT infrastructure," said Job Ndege, iWayAfrica Services companies' General Manager. "We value the long-standing relationship with KCB and the confidence KCB has in iWayAfrica as a Wide Area Network (WAN) and WAN Support Services partner. Indeed since the inception of this partnership in 2005, KCB has had a robust WAN with corresponding reliable and online Branch Banking services."

Gilat has a long history of successfully deploying broadband satellite networks for many of the world's most prominent financial-services companies. Gilat's satellite communications networks provide dependable, high-speed data networking to banks, government agencies, energy companies and citizens at thousands of sites throughout Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Angola, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa.

Nir Korman, Gilat's Regional Vice President, Africa, said, "We are confident that our proven combination of technology and support will help KCB meet its demanding networking requirements. Gilat's SkyEdge II is an excellent solution for the banking sector. With its high efficiency and full adaptivity, SkyEdge II gets the most out of the satellite link while providing high-speed connectivity to allow: high throughput for file transfer; voice quality for telephony; and other critical services for this sector."