Satellite Networks

Vodacom Group revealed on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Starlink to leverage its LEO satellite service across Africa for enterprise connectivity and mobile backhaul, although not yet in its home base of South Africa, where Starlink has yet to receive regulatory approval.

Thuraya, a subsidiary of Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered spacetech company, has announced the commercial rollout of its next-generation mobile communications satellite, Thuraya-4, in South Africa.

Satellite technology company Avanti Communications announced on Tuesday it has expanded its partnership with Türksat with a new agreement that aims to extend high connectivity solutions across Africa, particularly underserved regions in Southern Africa.

SES and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) announced on Tuesday they have successfully upgraded over 200 telecoms sites across Côte d’Ivoire to deliver 2G and 3G mobile data services to over 500,000 people in rural and previously underserved areas.

Veon Group’s Beeline Kazakhstan has partnered with Starlink to deliver mobile connectivity across Kazakhstan, extending service to remote regions currently beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.

SpaceX’s satellite internet unit Starlink is reportedly in talks with operators in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to expand coverage to remote and underserved areas.

Satellite communications provider Globalstar has announced the addition of eight new six-metre C-3 tracking antennas to its ground stations across Brazil, supporting its third-generation mobile satellite services across Central and South America.

Multinational telecommunications corporation Orange and satellite operator Eutelsat have announced the inauguration of a new teleport hosting Eutelsat's satellite gateway in the Caribbean island Martinique. This strategic project aims to strengthen satellite coverage for the Eutelsat OneWeb constellation in the Caribbean region.

UAE-based Space42 announced on Wednesday that its next-gen Thuraya-4 satellite is now globally available for customers in Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, with new markets including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said on Friday that it’s preparing to expand its testing of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell (D2C) satellite service to all areas of Ukraine, apart from border zones, temporarily occupied territories and areas where fighting is happening amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

Saudi Arabian telco stc Group announced on Wednesday it has signed a strategic agreement with LEO satellite operator AST SpaceMobile to develop direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity services across Saudi Arabia and select markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Communications and technology provider Liberty Caribbean, part of Liberty Latin America, has announced a partnership with satellite communications company Starlink to support emergency communications on the storm-hit island of Jamaica.

PLDT’s mobile arm Smart Communications announced on Tuesday it has partnered with direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite operator Lynk Global to provide its services in the Philippines, starting with basic text messaging over LTE.

EMIS, a provider of geospatial information systems (GIS) in Slovakia, and ICEYE, a leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data, have announced a strategic partnership to expand access to critical, near real-time hazard information for Slovak authorities.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Viasat India said on Friday they are expanding their collaboration on skills training to include satellite-based IoT solutions, with a particular focus on commercial uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), in a bid to boost India’s low-altitude economy, as well as Viasat’s Velaris UAV service.

Pan-African telecoms and network services provider Paratus Group announced on Wednesday that it is expanding into Rwanda, where it will provide and install Starlink LEO satellite services for businesses in the country.

Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT announced on Wednesday it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Chinese companies Guodian Gaoke and StarWin to offer IoT services in Malaysia supported by Guodian Gaoke’s “Tianqi” LEO satellite constellation.

The direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity business has been back in the headlines with the, potentially, highly significant news that two satcoms businesses, Lynk Global, a patented and commercially licensed D2D system, and Omnispace, which says it is delivering a unique, 5G-based ‘one global network’, are to merge. But how will this affect the developing world?

UAE-based satellite firm Space42 announced at GITEX Global 2025 in Dubai on Tuesday it has signed an MoU with e& UAE to explore collaboration in direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity via Space42’s Equatys venture with Viasat.

Myanmar is making telecoms news headlines yet again – and yet again this news is receiving attention well beyond the specialist press. This time it’s because the scam centre business that has burgeoned in the country is allegedly being enabled, in part, by satellite communications provider Starlink.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain late last week announced the launch of a public consultation on what it calls a landmark proposal to authorise satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services in Bahrain.

Pan-African operator Airtel Africa has announced what it calls a historic breakthrough for African railways connectivity: the successful testing of satellite internet on a moving train in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hungarian company 4iG Space and Defence (4iG SDT) says it has signed a preliminary, non-binding commitment letter with US-based Axiom Space, a global leader in commercial spaceflight and low Earth orbit (LEO) infrastructure development.

Karrier One, which describes itself as a leader in decentralised telecom infrastructure, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global satellite communications company Iridium to integrate Iridium NTN Direct IoT capabilities into the Karrier One ecosystem.

The government of Mauritania has indicated that it intends to develop a national space programme focused on nanosatellites to strengthen sovereign capabilities and support overall economic development.

Globalstar, a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure and technology provider, together with its wholly owned subsidiary, Globalstar Europe SAS, has announced that the construction process has begun on doubling the size of its existing ground station in Estonia.

A new agreement announced this week between Amazon's Project Kuiper low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network and Kazakhtelecom, the largest telecommunication company in Kazakhstan, aims to bring high-speed satellite internet to communities throughout Kazakhstan.

SoftBank Corp tested new innovation in High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) technology that can beam stable 5G connectivity from the sky to the ground, as the company advances in the nascent technology that can plug coverage gap in rural areas.

UAE-based satellite player Space42 and global satellite operator Viasat announced on Monday they plan to form a joint venture called Equatys that will offer global direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services whilst also promising to evolve mobile satellite services (MSS) to a 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) environment.

SpaceX has launched Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN)’s long-delayed Nusantara Lima (N5) satellite into geostationary orbit to provide satellite broadband connectivity to Indonesia and surrounding areas.

Hughes do Brasil, a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, a major name in satellite and managed network services, and Soil Tecnologia, a startup in automation and monitoring solutions for central pivot systems, have announced a partnership that, the companies say, aims to bring connectivity and automation to agribusiness irrigation projects in every corner of Brazil.

Apogeo Space, an Italian SME that says it is developing the first private national constellation of picosatellites for IoT telecommunications, has announced a strategic agreement with Telespazio Brasil to expand its picosatellite IoT services into the Latin American market.