East Africa to launch joint comms satellite

The Kingdom said it was not just launching a building - it was opening the door to a connected, prosperous future for every young person in the country.

A multi-year agreement will deploy high-speed satellite connectivity to rural areas where terrestrial networks are unfeasible.

The company is in advanced talks to acquire Globalstar in a $9 billion deal that could accelerate its Project Kuiper rollout and reshape the race against Starlink across Africa’s fast-growing connectivity frontier.

Steep licensing fee hike for satellite providers could reshape the country’s connectivity landscape.

Threefold growth in two years signals a commercial shift for the state-owned satellite company as it concludes procurement for the NIGCOMSAT-2 fleet.

Milestone trial enables standard 4G smartphones to connect directly to satellites in network dead zones without specialised hardware.

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia has rejected Starlink’s licence bid, echoing similar resistance in South Africa and spotlighting growing tensions between foreign tech giants and local ownership laws.

The Central African Republic becomes the 27th African market to launch Starlink, as the satellite service targets rural connectivity gaps.

The telco makes it the first operator in the country to offer satellite speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

The country’s communications regulator is seeking to track interference levels with existing cellular networks with the introduction of Direct-to-Cell calls.

MTN claims to be the first African operator to successfully complete a live field test of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell service in Africa.

The network provides a critical lifeline for humanitarian organisations and displaced communities, supporting essential services including online learning, digital skills training, and community connectivity centres.