Satellite Networks

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?

Thuraya Telecommunications Company, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s satellite solutions provider Yahsat, is partnering with data compression specialist Niflink to provide customisable telemedicine and e-learning solutions across its network using Niflink’s video compression technology.

Start-up satellite manufacturer and operator Astranis said on Monday it has struck a new partnership with Latin American ISP Orbith to provide a dedicated MicroGEO communications satellite for Argentina.

UAE operator etisalat by e& has become the first telecom operator to partner with UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat for its Direct-to-Device (D2D) strategy to enable satellite connections for standard smartphones.

Echostar-owned Hughes Network Systems announced on Wednesday that Kazakhstan’s Republican Center of Space Communication (RCSC) will deploy its Jupiter System ground platform to connect remote villages in the country.

An expanded connectivity offering from two major names in satellite communications – Intelsat and CDL – is said to hold out the promise of delivering new land mobility services throughout India.

Thailand may reportedly lose at least one of its two satellite orbital slots next year if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) can’t find any takers in its upcoming allocation plan.

MTN, the largest mobile network operator in Africa, and global communications provider Omnispace have announced a collaboration to provide voice, data, fintech, digital, enterprise, wholesale and API services to over 290 million customers in 19 countries.

The Indian government is reportedly set to classify satellite broadband as a telecoms service, which would make global satellite broadband players eligible for 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) automatically.

Satellite and space tech company Thaicom has announced the selection of Astranis, a fast-growing satellite manufacturer and operator, to supply Thaicom-9, the newest addition to the Bangkok-headquartered company's fleet of high-throughput satellites, at 119.5 degrees East.

Oil and gas production are major industries in the Middle East, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and other regions covered by this publication. But should telecoms monitor the effect of these industries on the environment – and if so, how? Two possible answers come in the form of a recently launched satellite.

Satellite technology company Avanti Communications has been granted the authorisation required for its HYLAS 4 satellite gateway station in Diamniadio, Senegal, about 32 kilometres from Dakar.

Malaysian telco CelcomDigi on Friday said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with satellite operator SES to find ways to use SES’s medium-earth-orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous satellites to connect businesses and communities in Malaysia.

Eutelsat Group and satellite engineering enterprise Q-KON have revealed that multiple digital banks in South Africa have now gone live on Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO satellite network.

Talks between SpaceX and Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to allow Starlink satellite broadband services in the country have reportedly been put on hold, as has a pilot project with coast guard drones using Starlink connectivity.