AfDB President at a meeting. Photo: AfDB

[Via Satellite 07-07-2015] Hughes Network Systems received a contract from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to expand its provision of managed Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) services.

AfDB has been a Hughes managed services customer since 2008, employing a primary communications network of broadband satellite terminals installed at 32 AfDB field offices throughout Africa. In 2013, AfDB expanded its managed services to include MPLS circuits at four sites to its headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast from a teleport in Germany. The new three-year contract calls for expanding MPLS connectivity to an additional seven bank locations including regional resource centers and key field offices.

AfDB’s network requirements include high availability; uniform Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Quality of Service (QoS) offerings; a single vendor to provide full turnkey managed services and ongoing system engineering, installation, and field maintenance; monthly reporting, statistics and quarterly review on usage and performance; and a 24/7 multi-lingual help desk.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is one of five major multilateral development banks in the world that provide assistance to regional member countries with a view to helping them achieve their development goals. The multi-lateral development finance institution is comprised of three entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).

“Our vision is to implement a decentralized IT cloud for which high throughput redundant links and reliable connectivity is of critical importance,” said David Wu, ICT director at AfDB.