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GUYANE NUMERIQUE; AT LAST BROADBAND IN FRENCH GUYANA
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  Guyane Numérique, Mediaserv and Sogetrel are bringing broadband to the people of French Guyana. In fact, on December 22, 2006, the Regional Council of French Guyana announced that it had selected the grouping comprising Mediaserv and Sogetrel as public service delegation for the French Guyana broadband electronic communications network, with a 20 year concession and an investment budget of 15.5 million Euros (up to 72% of this project financed with public funds)
The geographic setting of French Guyana necessitates the use of different technologies to set up a broadband network. In French Guyana 90% of the population lives on a stretch of coastline which represents 5% of the country’s surface. The rest of the country is covered by tropical forest. The objectives of the public service delegation for setting up broadband in French Guyana were defined by Antoine Karam, President of the French Guyana Region.
- Allowing the entire population and all companies to have broadband access
- Enabling existing companies and the people of French Guyana to have innovative services at the best prices
- Facilitating the deployment of operators on the locations served by the regional network
- Making the country attractive for the implementation of new employment generating activities and in particular, promoting the development of activities dedicated to ICT.
Setting up broadband in the coastal area constitutes more than 120km of fiber optics, 19 microwave radio systems and 17 NRA.
@rteria, a subsidiary of EDF implements an optical fiber communication link from Cayenne to Kourou. The fiber optic routes are extended in Cayenne and Kourou to reach the NRA of France Telecom via the industrial parks. The Region of French Guyana signed a contract with @rteria to make 85km of fiber optics on the EDF Guyane High Voltage electric line (90,000 volts), available to Guyane Numérique. Under the supervision of EDF Guyane, Guyane Numérique will begin to install 9 housings. These housings allow the link up of the fiber optics made available by @rteria to the different local service networks (mainly Cayenne, Kourou, Balata, Montsinéry, Pariacabo,…).
A digital microwave route will be set up between Kourou and Saint Laurent du Maroni. This link will be achieved from existing high points (TDF and CSG) or those to be constructed. Toward the east, Régina and Saint Georges, a new microwave route will must be set up.
Today, more than 80% of the network, civil engineering and fiber optic, is carried out on the island of Cayenne and Kourou. The job of linking to the @rteria network will be carried out between the end of November 2008 and February 2009. Through this network, 6 NRA on the island of Cayenne may be unbundled in the first trimester of 2009. These 6 sites represent 65% of the unbundled lines.
Setting up broadband in remote villages
Setting up broadband in the remote villages is done from 17 satellite stations linked by a satellite hub installed in Cayenne, close to the Region’s hotel. Today the satellite is the only means of bringing broadband to these villages. In May 2008 a contract was signed between Guyane Numérique and Intelsat, in order to feed bandwidth to all the stations.
The Guyane Numérique team
Philippe Caprice – Manager
Mathieu Lignon – Deployment Manager
Benjamin Piris, from the engineering team based in Paris, has been in French Guyana since November to confirm the activation of the satellite stations.
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