- Title: IVORY COAST: SATELLITE GROUND STATION OPENED BY PRESIDENT HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY
- Date: 29th November 1972
- Summary: 1. GV & SV Satellite dish (2 shots) 0.13 2. SV Women in traditional dress dancing 0.16 3. SV President past honour guard 0.19 4. SV Crowd applaud 0.27 5. SV President receives flowers, walks along red carpet (2 shots) 0.35 6. SV Sissoko decorates personalities 0.45 7. SV President cuts tape 0.53 8. SV INT. Tracking station equipment PAN TO officials entering 0.58 9. SV & CU President talks to Pompidou on telephone & Pompidou on TV screen (3 shots) 1.15 Initials SGM/0124 SGM/0138 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 14th December 1972 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Akakro, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Country: Ivory Coast
- Reuters ID: LVA26O6WPS1PG7HVDQVKFH6G06Z7
- Story Text: A satellite ground station at Akakro near Abidjan, was opened this week (Monday) by Ivory Coast President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
The station cost an estimated 1000 million francs CFA(1.5 million sterling) and will use as Intelsat satellite centred over the Atlantic.
It immediately opens up 60 new international telephone circuits and improves radio and television communications.
The Ivory Coast is the sixth African member of the Intelsat consortium, and the opening was marked by telephone conversation between President Howphouet-Boigny and President Pompidou of France. The Ivory Coast leader also talked with President Senghor of Senegal, and U.S. President Nixon.
SYNOPSIS: The Ivory coast has entered the satellite age, with the opening this week of a ground station at Akakro, thirty kilometres East of Abidjan. The new station immediately opens up sixty new international telephone lines, and improves radio and television communications.
The opening ceremony was performed by President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, after local women performed traditional dances outside the ultra modern installation. The Ivory Coast is the sixth African member of the intelsat consortium which has more than eighty members.
Among the guest,s the telecommunications ministers for Senegal, France and Upper Volta - and the Secretary General of the Moroccan telecommunications ministry.
The ground station cost one thousand million CFA francs to build, and it will use an Intelsat satellite centred over the Atlantic Ocean. Ivory Coast viewers watched several hours of Mondovision the day before the official opening.
President Houphouet-Boigny talked by phone with President Pompidou of France, and to President Senghor of Senegal. Later an agreement was signed for the construction of an under water cable from France to the Ivory Coast, via Morocco and Senegal.
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