Satellite Networks

Thailand’s state telco National Telecom (NT) is reportedly at risk of losing its partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, as the LEO satellite operator is said to be considering moving its regional gateway out of the country because of ongoing delays.

Pan-African technology group Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced a distribution partner agreement (DPA) with Eutelsat Group, described as the world's first satellite operator with an integrated GEO-LEO infrastructure, that will see enterprise-grade low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services being made available in Africa.

Telkom Indonesia’s satellite services arm Telkomsat said on Friday that it has signed a cooperation agreement with LEO satellite operator Starlink to offer the latter’s satellite broadband services to enterprises in Indonesia.

The SpaceX satcoms service Starlink is now live across the more than 300 islands in the Republic of Fiji, marking, the company says, the 99th country, territory or market around the world where Starlink’s high-speed internet service is available.

SpaceX’s LEO satellite operator Starlink officially launched its service in Indonesia on Sunday, which among other things will be used to bolster healthcare and education services in remote areas under a new agreement.

The government of Tonga is reportedly deliberating whether or not to grant an operator licence to SpaceX’s LEO satellite operator Starlink, which a number of people in the country are already using, albeit not legally.

UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat announced that it has successfully restored services to Thuraya’s satellite customers in southeast Asia and most of China after its Thuraya 3 satellite went offline in mid-April.

General insurance provider Tata AIG has launched what it calls its Satellite In-Orbit Third-Party Liability Insurance policy for satellite manufacturers and operators in the Indian space industry – a first, it seems, for Indian insurance provision.

Avanti has partnered with Q-KON to provide LEO satellite connectivity to customers across South Africa.

Indonesia will become the third South East Asian nation to gain SpaceX’s satellite service Starlink after the government granted the Elon Musk company, permission for operation with aims to expand connectivity to remote locations.

Colombian connectivity service provider INRED and satellite operator SES announced their latest collaboration on Monday, with this one using SES’ medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites to provide internet connectivity in the department (administrative division) of Amazonas.

SpaceX should be able to launch its Starlink LEO satellite broadband service in Indonesia in the next two weeks, a government minister reportedly said on Friday.

Global satellite operator Intelsat has signed a deal with agriculture and construction equipment firm CNH to install, connect and operate ruggedized multi-orbit satellite terminals on CNH farm equipment in remote farmland throughout Brazil.

Ghana is the latest country to give the go-ahead to SpaceX and its Starlink satellite internet service.

The anticipated merger of Bayanat, an AI-powered geospatial solutions provider, and Yahsat, the UAE’s flagship satellite operator, is now close to completion.

Cameroon authorities have reportedly banned imports of Starlink kits and are confiscating them at the border, even though SpaceX plans to stop service availability in the country this week.

Satellite operator SES announced on Wednesday that its second-generation medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite network, O3b mPOWER, is now live and ready to provide satellite broadband services around the world.

The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) has signed an MoU with SpaceX’s Starlink to provide internet access in Indonesia as the LEO satellite operator awaits final regulatory approval to operate in the country.

Africa Mobile Networks Group (AMN) announced on Thursday that its first of its base stations in Nigeria to connect to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation is now live and using the LEO satellite network for backhaul connectivity.

Satellite communications company Starlink has halted internet services in Zimbabwe until it receives licensing approval from the nation’s telecommunications regulator.

Earth observation and data analysis are in the news again thanks to two MoUs of strong relevance to Africa.

Submarine cable network operator and managed connectivity service provider Seacom has launched a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite service for its enterprise clients in South Africa.

Eutelsat Group announced on Tuesday that its LEO satellite unit OneWeb is providing broadband services in Antarctica for British Antarctic Survey (BAS) on a trial basis.

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group revealed on Monday it’s collaborating with Microsoft’s Airband initiative to connect rural educational and healthcare institutions across developing countries in the Asia Pacific using satellite broadband connectivity.

SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, has applied to Indonesia's government for an internet service provider (ISP) permit for its Starlink satellite unit, according to a statement from the country’s communications ministry late this week.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite communication arm of UAE satellite player Yahsat, announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its partnership with Algérie Télécom Satellite to become the authorised distributor of Thuraya’s new direct-to-device (D2D) satellite smartphone in Algeria.

High altitude pseudo satellites (HAPS), aka high-altitude platform systems, are back in the news, this time thanks to a deal affecting India.

Eutelsat Group says it has signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with African ICT integrator NEC XON to supply connectivity capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa via Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO satellite constellation.

Is Ghana accelerating the pace of satellite internet licensing in response to the disruption caused by the widely reported subsea cable damage off the coast of West Africa?