Angola: João Lourenço authorizes the marketing of the AngoSat-2 telecom satellite
February 6th 2023
Angola put its 2nd telecommunications satellite into orbit in October 2022 in partnership with Russia. The infrastructure should contribute to the development of telecoms, agriculture and other sectors of the Angolan economy.
Angolan President João Lourenço authorized by presidential decree nº11/23, the commercialization of AngoSat-2, the 2 nd Angolan telecommunications satellite, after the completion of its test phase. The decree stems from a press release issued last week by the Angolan National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN).
It empowers the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication to supervise, as a sub-delegate, the processes necessary for the management and commercialization of the satellite, in accordance with the prescribed legislation and regulations. The president also inaugurated a satellite control center in Luanda.
The commercialization of AngoSat-2 begins approximately 3 months after its launch. Its construction is the result of an agreement signed in April 2018 with Russia to compensate for the loss of AngoSat-1, the first Angolan telecom satellite launched in December 2017. The project was first entrusted to the Russian company RSC Energia . It was finally taken from him at the request of the Angolan authorities, then entrusted to Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company (ISS-Reshetev).
The authorization for the commercialization of AngoSat-2 and the inauguration of the satellite control center are part of the National Space Strategy of Angola. The government aims to use space technology to improve the quality and coverage of telecommunications services in the country.
“ Therefore, further investments so that our telecommunications contribute to the development of the country and services to our economy, and not only to Angolan society, will continue to be made. […] in terms of optical fiber and therefore cable transmission and investments that we are making today to connect Angola to the neighboring country, specifically the DRC ,” said João Lourenço.
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