Gilat wins Compartel extension

Gilat Satellite Networks has secured a one-year extension to its contract to provide services under the Rural Communitarian Telephony (Compartel II) and Telecentros projects, to finish December 2010. The Compartel projects aim to provide satellite telecoms services to rural areas in Colombia. The original agreements expired at the end of 2009, but the government has agreed to pay USD1 million per month in 2010 to keep the project running. Colombia’s Deputy Minister of Technology Information and Communications Daniel Medina said: ‘The extended agreement enables us to continue working towards the goal of ensuring that every Colombian is connected and informed, especially in the most remote regions of the country. To this end, we get involved in helping reach the less affluent Colombians, in places where no one else would assist without the help of the government and the participation and commitment of Gilat’.