NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 6 - The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has awarded three licenses to Gateway Communications, a provider of carrier and business network solutions which will allow it to build infrastructure and deliver telecommunications services to end users in Kenya.

The firm’s management said on Friday that the Network Facilities Provider (NFP) Tier 2 Licence, Application Services Provider (ASP) license and its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) license further provided them with the drive to build a pan-African connectivity network that covers every major African city based on satellite, submarine cable and terrestrial infrastructure.

“The awards mean that the leader in pan-African telecommunications can build infrastructure to undertake the construction, installation and operation of electronic communications systems in Kenya,” said Gateway East Africa Managing Director Silvio do Carmo.

Gateway now has a fully redundant Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) backbone on SEACOM in Kenya, which interconnects South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Europe.

“Gateway can now provide direct connectivity for businesses from Kenya to South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, as well as Europe and the US, with our MPLS network,” added Mr do Carmo.

He added that the Gateway will continue to invest in infrastructure in East Africa and was installing its own satellite teleports in Kenya.

The company is also building two terrestrial teleports in Nairobi to offer national and international connections for sectors such as banking, mining and retail and has already reinforced fourth layer layer power back-up system.

Gateway opened an office in Kenya at the beginning of 2009 to work with major customers in East Africa, with increasing demand for pan-African communications.

“Kenya has always been considered the hub of East Africa, which means a lot of multinationals are headquartered in Nairobi, but require reliable communications up and down the East Coast,” the MD added.

Gateway was one of the first investors in SEACOM, the 13,700 km under-sea cable, connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Kenya with India and Egypt that is bringing high-speed connectivity to East Africa for the first time.

“Opportunities abound in East Africa and we are very excited about the prospect for more and better connectivity improving access to education, information and global networks.

It connects over 583 million people in over 40 African countries, working in partnership with the continents leading mobile phone operators.

“We are committed to developing long term communications solutions and investing for the long term in the communities where we operate,” he added.