• Orange Côte d’Ivoire, with Eutelsat, introduced satellite internet to reach rural and underserved areas.

• Orange Sat joins Starlink, OneWeb, and other telco–satellite partnerships expanding coverage across Africa.

• With only 28% mobile internet penetration, GSMA says closing the gap needs affordability, skills, and policy reforms.

Orange Côte d’Ivoire has launched Orange Sat, a satellite internet service developed in partnership with Eutelsat, to extend connectivity to rural and underserved areas across the country. The move, announced January 19, positions Côte d’Ivoire within the broader competition among global and regional players seeking to dominate Africa’s emerging satellite broadband market.

For the group, “Thanks to this innovative solution, access to reliable and high-performance Internet becomes possible throughout the country, including in rural areas not covered by the 4G and fibre network, and which are difficult to access.”

Orange Côte d’Ivoire seeks to deliver nationwide coverage, including regions where terrestrial infrastructure is difficult or uneconomical to deploy by integrating satellite capacity into its existing fibre and mobile broadband portfolio.

Telecom–satellite collaborations are becoming a defining model for digital inclusion in Africa. In September 2023, Vodafone and Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite initiative, announced a strategic partnership to extend 4G and 5G services to more customers in Europe and Africa. Building on this, Vodacom Group in November 2025 signed an agreement with Starlink to deliver high‑speed, low‑latency broadband to millions of businesses and expand rural coverage, to connect remote schools, health centres, and communities.

Most recently, in December 2025, Airtel Africa partnered with SpaceX to introduce Starlink’s Direct‑to‑Cell connectivity across its 14 markets, giving 173.8 million customers the ability to access satellite‑enabled mobile service in areas without terrestrial coverage. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has obtained operating licenses in Nigeria and outlined plans to begin commercial services in South Africa in 2026. Together, these deals highlight how Africa’s leading operators are turning to satellite providers to accelerate network expansion and bridge the continent’s digital divide.

Orange Sat enters a competitive landscape alongside Starlink and OneWeb, two major players expanding their presence in Africa. According to TeleGeography, as of October 2025, Starlink was live in over 150 countries and territories, including 23 African markets, with more launches planned. OneWeb operates a constellation of roughly 600 LEO satellites and focuses on wholesale and enterprise connectivity, frequently partnering with governments and telecom operators to extend coverage.

These developments come at a time when Africa’s average mobile internet penetration rate stands at about 28% (416 million users). In Sub‑Saharan Africa, 58% of people who remain unconnected already live within areas covered by mobile broadband networks, according to GSMA data, which points to challenges beyond infrastructure, including affordability, device availability, and digital literacy.

According to the GSMA, closing the continent’s usage gap requires coordinated policy and industry interventions focused on affordability, demand stimulation, skills development, and the reduction of structural barriers such as taxation and spectrum costs. Only through such a holistic approach, the association argues, can satellites fully contribute to inclusive digital development.

Hikmatu Bilali