Bamako, Mali, with Pont du roi Fahd in the background. Photo: Wikimedia.

Speedcast International announced that it won a multi-million dollar contract to provide satellite cellular backhaul services to Alpha Telecommunication Mali (ATEL), part of Planor Afrique Group, provider of the newest third-generation mobile network in Mali.

Through the agreement, Speedcast will use satellite to connect all remote areas of the country to the Bamako main core infrastructure, allowing millions of potential consumers to benefit from Telecel voice and data services.

ATEL is Mali’s third cellular license holder and has plans to invest $200 million to service the market, which will be able to support up to five million users. After successfully completing testing on calls, ATEL finalized a full commercial launch of the 3G cellular network, which will operate under the brand name Telecel.