OneWeb, a global communications network powered from space, has announced the signing of a distribution partnership agreement with Airtel Africa, a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services across Africa.
This strategic agreement, say the partners, will help to deliver OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency low-Earth-orbit (LEO) connectivity services to government and enterprise customers across wide swathes of the continent.
The partnership will focus on delivering satellite communications services to enterprise and civil government customers for a wide range of use cases, including connectivity in rural areas, agriculture, hospitals, hotels, schools, and the energy and mining sectors. OneWeb and Airtel Africa will also provide backhaul in unserved and underserved regions.
This announcement builds upon OneWeb’s existing initiatives in Africa, including installations of satellite network portals (SNP) in Angola, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Mauritius.
With only four more launches to go, OneWeb says it also remains on track to activate its coverage solutions in Africa, and elsewhere around the world in 2023. It is implementing a constellation of LEO satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service.
Luc Serviant, Group Enterprise Director, Airtel Business at Airtel Africa, says: “OneWeb and Airtel Africa will begin trialling service in South Africa in September, with plans to achieve full coverage in 2023 across Airtel Africa’s footprint, comprising 14 countries in East, Central and West Africa.”
