Intelsat partners with Azercosmos to provide mobile satellite services in West Africa
May 24th 2023
Intelsat has ordered satellites to meet the demand for high-speed connectivity in Africa and around the world. In the meantime, the company must lease capacity from other satellite operators to provide its services.
The satellite telecom services operator Intelsat will rely on the capacities of the Azerspace-2 satellite of the Azerbaijani company Azercosmos to strengthen the coverage of its services in West Africa. A signed trade agreement to this effect was unveiled on Tuesday, May 23.
“ We have been cooperating with Azerkosmos since 2018, when the Azerspace-2 satellite was put into orbit. We trust Azerkosmos to provide services in line with the needs of our customers in Africa ,” said Adam Troy, Intelsat vice president of business development and network partnerships.
This agreement is part of Intelsat’s expansion strategy in Africa. The company last April signed a cooperation agreement with Gilat Satellite Networks to improve its in-flight connectivity (IFC) capabilities and support the expansion of managed services with mobile network operators in Africa, among others. It has already signed agreements with MTN in South Sudan, Safaricom in Kenya, Vodacom in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)…
These partnerships take place in a context where telecom operators are investing more and more in satellite connectivity solutions intended to allow them to extend the coverage of their telecom networks, particularly in rural or remote areas that are often difficult to access for their networks. terrestrial.
The collaboration between Intelsat and Azercosmos should help improve the quality and coverage of telecom services in West Africa. According to the 2022 edition of The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa report by the World Association of Telephone Operators (GSMA), the region had a mobile service penetration rate of around 50%. This figure is expected to reach 53% by 2025.
The growing demand from African telecom operators for additional capacity to meet growing consumer needs should allow Intelsat to strengthen its revenues and accelerate its recovery strategy. The company filed for bankruptcy in May 2021 due to financial difficulties.
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