In addition to the NFP, Gateway has secured its Application Services Provider (ASP) license and its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) license. The awards mean that the leader in pan-African telecommunications can build infrastructure in Kenya and deliver telecommunications services to end users, to undertake the “construction, installation and operation of electronic communications systems in Kenya”.

Gateway now has the first and only fully redundant MPLS backbone on SEACOM in Kenya, which interconnects South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Europe. This provides guaranteed quality of service to business and carrier customers, who can also prioritise voice or data traffic over the MPLS network.

“Kenya has always been considered the hub of East Africa, which means a lot of multinationals are headquartered in Nairobi, but require reliable communications up and down the East Coast,” said Silvio do Carmo, Managing Director for Gateway East Africa. “Gateway can now provide direct connectivity for businesses from Kenya to South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, as well as Europe and the US, with our MPLS network.”

Following gaining the licenses, Gateway will continue to invest in infrastructure in East Africa, and is installing its own satellite teleports in Kenya. The company is also building two terrestrial teleports in Nairobi to offer national and international connections for sectors such as banking, mining and retail. In addition, Gateway already has a reinforced 4th layer power back-up system.

Gateway opened an office in Kenya at the beginning of 2009 to work with major customers in East Africa, with increasing demand for pan-African communications. Gateway was a foundation customer and one of the first investors in SEACOM, the 13,700km under-sea cable, connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Kenya with India and Egypt that is bringing high-speed connectivity to East Africa for the first time.

“Opportunities abound in East Africa and we are very excited about the prospect for more and better connectivity improving access to education, information and global networks. Having opened offices in Nairobi and Kampala this year, we are already expanding our services and network. The license agreement in Kenya means that we can continue to offer communications across satellite, wireless systems or cable and providing the infrastructure to meet the ever-growing demand of carriers and businesses across the region,” added do Carmo.

About Gateway Communications Gateway Communications own and operate the largest and most advanced pan-African telecommunications network. Our scale, reach and resources are unparalleled.

Gateway connect over 583 million people in over 40 African countries, working in partnership with the continents leading mobile phone operators.

Our business experts are creating prosperity across Africa by working closely with multinational corporations; in banking and finance, oil and gas, mining and construction, retail and distribution, airlines and other important sectors.

With more than 45 transponders of satellite capacity over Africa we manage more connectivity over the continent than any other operator. And with 24 dedicated teleports, access to multiple SAT-3 and SEACOM landing ports, 17 African offices and 450 local experts, we’ve got more on the ground support than any other operator.

Gateway is committed to developing long term communications solutions and investing for the long term in the communities where we operate.

We continue to be recognised for setting the standards for tomorrow’s communications in Africa.