ACCRA, Ghana, February 6, 2013/ -- K-NET (http://www.knetgh.com), a
leading African telecommunications company offering triple-play voice, data and
video services across sub-Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce the successful
transition of its satellite-based services to a new high-powered digital
communications satellite located above the equator in geostationary orbit at a
longitude of 28.2 degrees East and providing coverage across West and Central
Africa.
The Astra 2F satellite, built by
Astrium and operated by SES, was launched on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle from
Kourou in French Guiana on September 28, 2012, with commercial services
commencing in November 2012 after extensive in-orbit testing. The new 2F
satellite has a 15-year life and replaces the Astra 2B satellite which was
launched in 2000. K-NET's state-of-the-art teleport located at McCarthy Hill in
Accra, Ghana is used to deliver multichannel digital TV and ultrafast broadband
internet services anywhere and everywhere throughout 16 countries within the
African contingent. K-NET's McCarthy Hill teleport connects West Africa to
major international internet POPs (Points of Presence) in Europe and the US via
multiple high-capacity submarine optical fibre cables.
The new 2F
satellite offers higher power, now enabling digital TV reception by every
household in West/Central Africa via a 60cm dish and inexpensive DVB decoder.
The K-NET digital TV platform is currently enjoyed by over 1 million
households, receiving 20 free-to-air (FTA) digital direct-to-home (DTH) TV
channels, including 3 of the 4 most-watched TV channels in Ghana - namely GTV,
TV3 and TV Africa, as well as the hugely popular MultiTV suite of TV channels.
Digital TV and ultrafast
broadband are now available to every home and business using a single compact
satellite dish. The new high-powered satellite enables K-NET to launch a new
range of broadband internet service packages which offer businesses and
consumers unrivalled levels of performance and value for money. These services
are available anywhere and everywhere throughout 16 West and Central African
countries, from the most densely-populated urban areas to the most
sparsely-populated rural locations.
A complete range of service
packages is available, designed to meet the wide range of needs and budgets
from small businesses and consumers to large enterprises and heavy downloaders.
The new entry-level CONNECT packages are
designed to offer very reliable and very high performance business-grade
Internet services at retail pricing starting from just $30 per month with
download speeds of 1Mbps.
The top-of-the-range PREMIUM
packages are designed to meet the connectivity needs of the most demanding
Internet users, with download speeds of 8Mbps and peak-time download volumes of
up to 100GB per month.
All the packages offer unlimited
download volumes during off-peak hours. No matter which service package is
selected, K-NET delivers the most reliable Internet service available on the
African continent, with a service availability of 99.7%. K-NET provides local
sales and after-sales support across the whole territory to ensure the highest
levels of customer support.
Commenting
on the successful transition, K-NET CEO, Michael Darcy, said "K-NET is
delighted to have successfully completed this strategic transition of our
digital TV and broadband services from the Astra 2B to 2F satellites. The new
2F platform, with its 15-year design life and increased capacity and power,
ensures that K-NET's customers are guaranteed the highest levels of performance
and the very best value for money for many years to come".
K-NET operates a comprehensive
structured Partner program which offers qualified Partners with best-in-class
levels of technical and sales training and support, together with a 50/50
revenue share. Partners can quickly build substantial recurring monthly revenue
streams by growing their subscriber base within their region. To find out more
about becoming a qualified partner, contact K-NET at partnerprogram@knetgh.com.
The new TV and broadband internet
services from K-NET are available anywhere in Nigeria, DRC, Ghana, Cameroon,
Ivory Coast, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Central
African Republic, Congo, Liberia, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea.