OneWeb, a global communications network powered by a constellation of 648 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, has announced the signing of a distribution partnership with Paratus Group, the pan-African telecommunications company.
The agreement will help Paratus to deliver OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity solutions across Africa once its global network coverage is activated in 2023.
This deal will focus on delivering satellite communications services to Paratus customers across 37 countries in Africa, particularly in rural and remote communities.
This news follows the multi-year agreement between OneWeb and Paratus to build a gateway in Luanda, Angola (reported in these pages in November), which will be operational in the second half of 2023. This new gateway will facilitate the provision of OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency connectivity to businesses, government, schools, clinics, and hospitals in under-serviced areas.
Today’s announcement builds upon significant strides that both companies say they have made to enhance connectivity in Africa. OneWeb has installed its Satellite Network Portals (SNP) in Angola, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Mauritius, and continues to secure strategic partnerships to roll out its coverage solutions.
Paratus has recently launched fibre connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo, inaugurated data centres in Zambia and Namibia, and activated its coverage solutions in Angolan provinces.
It’d been a busy period for OneWeb which has also signed a distribution agreement with telco solutions and services provider Q-KON Africa, and appointed Airtel Africa as a provider of its LEO satellite internet connectivity services to government and enterprise customers across the African continent.
