Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Spacenet Inc., has been selected by GTECH Corporation to provide nearly 7,500 units of Gilat’s Skystar Advantage broadband satellite communications equipment.
The VSAT equipment will support a new GTECH state lottery contract, as well as other lotteries worldwide.
In a separate agreement, Spacenet provided GTECH with a Skystar Advantage central satellite hub system, which will support all of GTECH’s North American VSAT-based lottery operations.
The new system includes two redundant, diverse, interconnected hub stations – one located in Chicago and the other in McLean, Virginia. Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Spacenet will also be responsible for the operation and support of the hub system and will provide GTECH with satellite space segment.
Since 1991, Gilat and its subsidiaries have provided GTECH with nearly 20,000 VSAT terminals for use by government-authorized lotteries worldwide. GTECH was the first to use satellite communications in an online lottery system, and has since proven that VSAT networks are a low-cost, dependable, easily deployable platform for any lottery location.
Spacenet President and Chief Executive Officer Nick Supron said, “By choosing Spacenet to meet its networking needs, GTECH has demonstrated its continued confidence in Gilat’s two-way satellite technology.
We are especially proud that in the United States, GTECH – the worldwide lottery services market share leader, and a company that usually manages its own satellite network infrastructure – has instead chosen to let Spacenet take on that responsibility.
We see this as a ringing endorsement of Spacenet’s track record in providing high-quality, turnkey VSAT services to dozens of other Fortune 500 companies across the United States.”
Thomas J. Caffrey, GTECH’s Vice President of Technology said, “Gilat’s VSAT technology provides us with the advanced communications platform we need to provide our lottery customers with uniformly high availability at all of their locations.
Skystar Advantage’s increased bandwidth capabilities and Internet Protocol (IP) support will also ensure our customers have the technology they need to deploy a wide range of interactive applications in the future.”
GTECH is a leading global information technology company with more than $1 billion in annual revenues, employing 4,700 persons in 44 countries. GTECH provides software, networks, and professional services that power high-performance, transaction processing solutions. GTECH’s core market is the lottery industry, with a growing presence in financial services and related segments.
