From French To Ethiopia, A Satellite Internet That Connects People

TechInAfrica – Currently in discussion with the Ethiopian government is Eutelsat, the French satellite broadcasting service provider, in regards to the possibility of its latest satellite providing an internet service that covers the African market. Called Konnect and set to launch at the end of December, the satellite will provide broadband internet-connected all across Africa.

“That is something we already opened in several countries in Africa. We are expecting also to deliver to Ethiopia market,” says Philippe Oliva, Chief Commercial Officer of EutelSat, before continuing, “We finalized negotiations in other African countries, that is why we opened broadband connectivity market in Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.”

“Because the way satellite has been designed, we use the gateway to reach the satellite in terms of broadband signals that will go up before going down to the country. This gateway could be located in Ethiopia,” Mr. Oliva added.

He called the plan of using Ethiopia as the gateway proves the partnership and willingness of his company to fulfill the country’s need for a regulatory solution, which is by delivering a specific satellite design tailored for the Ethiopian market. The partnership will also allow the government ease of access to its satellite internet gateway or the ground segment.

For the company, its latest satellite, EutelSat 7C, will particularly set for the base of monetization done by content video creators, by using signals from both the satellite and the internet. The service is likely to be arranged by the company shortly for Africa and Ethiopia.

“The future looks exciting for EutelSat in the Ethiopia market, with the recent launch of EutelSat 7C in June 2019, due to serve video markets in Africa in the coming weeks. Some of the upcoming projects for the Ethiopian market in addition to video services, Ethiopia will also be able to receive high-quality broadband in 2020 via EutelSat’s Konnect satellite, due for launch by the end of 2019. This will provide broadband services across the Africa continent with the aim of bridging the digital divide,” says Mr. Oliva.

As the biggest market shareholders in Ethiopia, the company is, indeed, full-gearing with all the chances it could take.

Source: Newbusinessethiopia.com