Africa gets renewed broadband focus with Eutelsat offshoot

Africa is set to benefit from a new broadband venture that aims to bridge the digital divide through the use of extensive, high-quality and affordable satellite infrastructure.

Satellite communications provider Eutelsat’s newly established subsidiary Konnect Africa plans to deploy commercial Africa-focused satellite services in 2017, ramping up to cover more than 20 sub-Saharan countries by 2019.

The satellite broadband venture will draw on the expertise, “deep” experience and financial backing of its parent company to unlock supplementary satellite services to narrow the technological gap that is inhibiting telecoms operators and Internet service providers’ provision of reliable broadband access and offerings, particularly in rural areas.

“Innovative broadband technologies are critical for Africa’s transformation plans and cost-effective solutions are required to ensure universal access [to broadband services],” said Konnect Africa CEO Laurent Grimaldi.

Speaking to Engineering News Online prior to the company’s launch at AfricaCom, in Cape Town, he explained that while the difficult and costly task of fibre deployment was under way across the continent, this was viable only for larger cities and urban regions, leaving the 341-million people in sub-Saharan Africa that live beyond a 50 km range of fibre out in the cold.

A mix of technologies, such as fibre, third- and fourth-generation technologies and satellite, is required for seamless broadband connectivity across the continent.

Konnect Africa marketing and business development director Francois Boullete said the first phase of the venture’s five-year development plan would see South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Benin, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo, gain access to satellite connectivity in the second quarter of 2017.

The second phase will involve a dedicated high-throughput satellite providing coverage to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Sudan, Angola, Zambia, Madagascar and Ethiopia in 2019.

“[Beyond] five years, Konnect Africa is considering the upcoming very-high-throughput satellite technology to further increase the performance and economics of satellite broadband,” he explained.

To accomplish its ambitions, Konnect Africa will establish local partnerships, with its flexible end-to-end Internet service portfolio structured to the needs of its data, mobile or very small aperture terminal operators, Internet service providers or pay-television platform partners.

“Consumers, businesses, schools, hospitals and governments all benefit from instant connectivity anywhere – in urban, rural or the most remote locations,” Boullete noted.