Pan-African operator Airtel Africa has announced what it calls a historic breakthrough for African railways connectivity: the successful testing of satellite internet on a moving train in sub-Saharan Africa.
The company says the successful tests have proven that uninterrupted high-speed internet can now be delivered to areas where traditional cell towers and fibre optics don’t reach – in this case, across some 669 kilometres of forested, remote terrain.
The tests were powered by Airtel Satellite for Business and the OneWeb low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation owned by Eutelsat, a leading name in satellite communications.
While it's not clear precisely where this took place, Airtel tests suggested that coverage was successful across almost the entire journey, even when the train travelled through dense forest. Speeds reached up to 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads, sufficient for both train operations and passengers using multiple devices. This performance closely matched the traffic plan set for the trial, confirming that the system could deliver consistent, high-capacity internet in motion.
As for what this means for the future, Airtel suggests that, with reliable internet, operators could benefit from real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and faster response in emergencies. For passengers, there are possibilities like on-board Wi-Fi, digital ticketing, real-time travel updates, and even entertainment streaming.
Airtel, working with Eutelsat/OneWeb, is now planning to extend Airtel Satellite for Business across Nigeria, DRC, Zambia, Madagascar and Gabon, bringing high-speed connectivity to some of the most remote parts of Africa.
