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Canada's African Sky Breaks Ground In South Africa
In a move that represents the culmination of two years of effort by management, African Sky has rolled out its first comprehensive wireless communications system in South Africa. The Company is delighted to report that it has finished the implementation, installation and testing of the wireless communication system for African Sky's first TeleTrade and Distance Learning Centres. Not only is African Sky building a communication highway but also through the Distance Learning Centres African Sky will be delivering its own distance learning content to South Africans. African Sky is now strategically positioned to exploit these rapidly growing markets. The two Distance Learning Centres, complete with computer terminals and other peripheral related equipment, are linked by radio wireless communication technologies, which operate in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) 2.4 GHz frequency. The Centres are located in Etwatwa, South Africa, a community of over 100,000 people specifically at the Phandimfundo Secondary School and the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Primary School. The radio wireless system is linked directly to the Company's TeleTrade Centre, which is connected to the global communications network using VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite communications. In the past year African Sky has experimented and sourced out numerous wireless antenna equipment that would be suitable for the Company's network design and budget. The Company's Chief Engineer, Martin Schaef, is now satisfied with the unique design of the wireless radio antenna that is being made exclusively for the Company by a large telecommunications equipment manufacturer. This antenna is approximately one-quarter the size of standard radio wireless antennas and less than half the cost. For further information on this equipment please contact the Company. African Sky has taken an important step forward in the wireless communications market in Southern and Eastern Africa, and simultaneously has raised its profile as a premier provider of Distance Learning. African Sky Communications Inc. is a Canadian public company listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange trading under the symbol 'PHN'. The Company focuses on providing communications services throughout Eastern and Southern Africa. African Sky Communications Inc, through a joint venture has obtained the right to provide communication services in South Africa. In addition the Company has an agreement with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to implement and operate communication networks in its 21 member states. Currently South Africa has a teledensity (number of main telephone lines per 100 people) of less than 12 and the COMESA region has a teledensity of less than 1. The Company is utilizing wireless and satellite based communications and is delivering services such as telemedicine and distance learning specifically to the women and children in the region. Currently the Company is in the process of implementing the first phase of its network in South Africa. Recently the Company has formed a partnership with the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) to provide monitoring and evaluation services on the impact of its communication network. The IDRC (www.idrc.ca) will also source external funding for the Company's distance learning and telemedicine projects. Related Links African Sky International Development Research Centre SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express VSAT Services Industry Breaks The $3 Billion Barrier London - August 10, 2000 A new report from COMSYS indicates that the annual VSAT service industry is valued at more than $3 billion. The study also predicts that terminal sales to the enterprise sector will more than double over the next five years as the shift by the major system vendors from hardware manufacturing to the service enterprise market gathers greater momentum.
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