January 28, 2010 – Sint-Niklaas, Belgium - Newtec announced today that its unique award winning FlexACM® technology – which on average doubles satellite link capacity – is the system behind Gateway Communications’ flagship continent-wide Internet backbone service, Africa IPJetDirect.

Gateway Communications, which has the largest pan-African communications network with customers in 40 countries, successfully launched IPJetDirect last year using C band and Ku band satellites to deliver IP services to mobile phone operators in Africa. Newtec’s DVB-S2 VCM and DVB-S2 FlexACM® technologies have been deployed on several platforms across the African continent to ensure maximum bandwidth efficiency and allow Gateway to make best use of the scarce satellite capacity over Africa.

“Gateway has always been a pioneer of high quality, cost effective voice, data connectivity across Africa. By using FlexACM® it can now reach out even further to satisfy Internet demand – and without unnecessary further satellite capacity investment,” said Newtec CEO Serge Van Herck. “FlexACM’s unique ability to dynamically optimize an end-to-end satellite transmission is ideal in this situation and we are delighted to be playing a part in supporting Gateway’s drive to deliver truly world class communications solutions across Africa”, Van Herck added.

FlexACM® combines a range of cutting edge technologies for implementing Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM), traffic shaping, payload compression and IP acceleration in a highly efficient way for IP trunking and IP backbone satellite links. In addition to doubling the capacity of an existing link, on average, it also guarantees 100 per cent availability of link reception, even when all other systems are down due to heavy rain fade. FlexACM® can be used in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint systems, in one way (with terrestrial return channels) as well as two way configurations (with the return channel also over satellite). It can be used to upgrade existing satellite links without changing other elements of the transmission chain, such as the antenna or HPA.

“Newtec’s technology gives us a highly efficient method of delivering large quantities of data into small antennas and the Variable Coding and Modulation (VCM) functionality allows the same platform to address many different sized antennas in the same footprint,” explained Gateway CTO Chris Young.

“FlexACM® is optimizing the transmission dynamically and automatically. It is helping us in our drive towards easy and cost-effective Internet access and to make sure Africa leads the way global communications are moving”.

FlexACM® is available on Newtec’s Elevation product family, which consists of DVB-S2 IP Satellite Modulators, Demodulators, Modems and Satellite IP appliances.

About Newtec

Newtec is the European market leader in Satellite Communications, offering highly reliable products and solutions including DVB-S2 modulators and modems, Digital TV & Radio Distribution and Exchange networks, IP Broadband Access Networks as well as software solutions for the optimization of Internet traffic to customers worldwide.
With its ambitious policy of re-investment in R&D, Newtec is recognized as a forerunner in several innovative satellite communication technologies, which have been published as industry standards (DVB, DVB-S2, DVB RCS and iSatTV Cenelec pr EN50478).
Established in 1985, and headquartered in Belgium, the company has regional offices located in Stamford (US), Singapore (Singapore), Beijing (China), Dubai (UAE) and São Paulo (Brazil). Newtec’s Tellitec® IP software products for Internet traffic optimization and data communication are engineered in Newtec’s research and development facilities in Berlin (Germany). Newtec's subsidiary TurboConcept in Brest (France), develops Intellectual Property Cores for turbo and LDPC building blocks.

Please visit the following link to get more information about Newtec’s FlexACM® solution: www.newtec.eu/FlexACM.

About Gateway Communications

Gateway Communications is the leading pan-African wholesale connectivity and telecommunications provider, working in partnership with Africa’s mobile operators, and helping many of the world’s largest corporations stay connected across Africa and into the rest of the world.

Gateway’s core infrastructure connects over 580 million people, across more than 40 African countries and includes over 50 satellite transponders over Africa, 24 dedicated teleports throughout Africa, and access to multiple sub-sea cable landing ports around the African continent.

Gateway Communications is recognised for setting the standards for tomorrow’s communications. Gateway Communications is wholly owned by Vodacom Group Limited, which is listed on the JSE Limited under the symbol VOD.

To read more about Gateway’s recent achievements please go to www.gatewaycomms.com/awards.html

Please visit the following link to get more information about IPJetDirect: www.gatewaycomms.com/documents/AfricaIPJetDirect.pdf