Synchronica, a global provider of push email, instant messaging, and social networking services, said it has signed a framework agreement with a pan-African operator group.

The agreement for Synchronica Mobile Gateway covers all of the operator's subsidiaries in Africa, and purchase orders have been issued worth $752,000 for professional services and initial licences required for a pilot launch, the company said in a statement.

Synchronica expects the operator to launch Mobile Gateway shortly across all subsidiaries and expects expansion orders for further licences in due course, it added.

This is Synchronica's tenth agreement with an African carrier, this time a mobile operator group with subsidiaries across the continent.

"We are very pleased to have completed this deal", said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica.

"We look forward to a successful product rollout in Africa, and we also have the opportunity to introduce our sought-after push email, instant messaging, and social networking services across the enlarged group," Brinkschulte added.

According to the study "Africa Connected - A Telecommunications Growth Story" from Ernst & Young, the African region is one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world.

Historical underinvestment in telecommunications has rendered-fixed line telecommunications largely insignificant, and average mobile penetration across the continent stands at 37 per cent, expected to rise to 61 per cent by 2012. Demand for mobile data services in the continent will continue to gain in popularity.-TradeArabia News Service