• Eutelsat and Paratus have signed a multi-year agreement to expand OneWeb’s LEO satellite connectivity across Southern Africa.

• This partnership addresses critical broadband gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half of the world’s 400 million unconnected people reside.

• The African LEO landscape is rapidly evolving, with major players like Orange, Vodafone, Vodacom, and Telecel, entering partnerships to extend satellite-based coverage.

Network service providers Eutelsat and Paratus have signed an agreement to expand delivery of Eutelsat's OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity services across Southern Africa, they announced on November 12.

"Demand for resilient and high-speed connectivity continues to grow across Southern Africa, particularly in sectors operating across remote and distributed sites," said Ghassan Murat, RVP MEA at Eutelsat. "By combining Eutelsat's LEO capabilities with Paratus' established network and operational presence, we are enabling organizations to stay connected wherever they operate."

The multi-year agreement builds on the companies’ existing partnership, extending LEO services across South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. The offering includes solutions for fixed sites, comms-on-the-move, and comms-on-pause—addressing the region’s persistent connectivity gaps.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains home to nearly half of the 400 million people globally without mobile broadband access, according to GSMA. This expansion comes at a pivotal time, as the global LEO satellite market—valued at $14.2 billion in 2024—is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.2%, reaching $48.8 billion by 2034, according to Global Market Insights.

The African LEO satellite market is becoming increasingly dynamic, with Eutelsat OneWeb emerging as a key competitor. In June 2025, OneWeb signed an agreement with Orange to expand service coverage using its LEO constellation. This follows a wave of similar moves across the continent: in September 2023, Vodafone partnered with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to enhance 4G and 5G connectivity in Africa, while Vodacom had earlier teamed up with U.S.-based AST SpaceMobile in December 2020 to deliver space-based mobile services.

In February 2024, Telecel Group joined the race by announcing a deal with Lynk Global Inc. to provide direct satellite phone services to subscribers in Ghana. Meanwhile, Starlink has already deployed thousands of LEO satellites and begun offering broadband access in several African countries, further intensifying competition.

Hikmatu Bilali