Rome (Fides Service) – At last Africa will have its own satellite communications system. The 32nd council of administration of RASCOM, Regional African Organisation for Satellite Communications, examined a report on the feasibility of an integrated network for satellite broadcasting in Africa. RASCOM is an inter-government association founded in 1992 charged with developing African telecommunications infrastructures.
After the approval of its feasibility, the project now passes to the executive stage entrusted to RASCOM-BOT a joint venture of African and European companies. RASCOM-BOT will manage finances, planning, and building of the satellites and relative control systems, launching and the development of terminals on earth.
RASCOM will offer services of data transmission, live TV links, fax, access to the Internet, broad band for professionals and private networks all over Africa and southern Europe. In the next few years the scheme will bring advantages to the peoples of the continent thanks to the reduction of costs. At present in fact to communicate among themselves African countries use European, Asian and American satellites. Direct satellite contact between African countries will allow the continent to reduce expenses for communications by several billion CFA francs, which until now have gone to foreign companies. This will mean breaking another chain of colonialism, communications colonialism. LM (Fides Service 7/10/2003 EM lines 23 Words: 254)