(AFP dispatch)
Eutelsat Group announces the signing of a new multi-year agreement with Q-KON, a major provider of satellite solutions and services, to extend low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services across sub-Saharan Africa.
This new agreement will accelerate the rollout of high-speed, low-latency connectivity services for businesses and communities in underserved areas of Africa, particularly in Southern Africa.
The expanded agreement just signed with Q-KON follows the successful integration in 2023 of Eutelsat's OneWeb LEO technology into Q-KON's Twoobii Smart Satellite Services offering, as well as the launch of digital banking services in February 2024.
Under this agreement, Eutelsat's OneWeb network will provide Q-KON with significant satellite capacity, enabling it to continue developing and ramping up Twoobii-LEO and offering advanced broadband services in response to the region's growing need for reliable, high-speed internet access.
This new partnership will promote the provision of essential services such as cloud-based applications, telemedicine services, e-learning, finance-specific applications, and corporate networks in sub-Saharan Africa, for both urban and rural populations. By combining Eutelsat's cutting-edge satellite infrastructure with Q-KON's local expertise and industrial know-how, the agreement aims to provide areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks with high-quality Internet access at competitive rates.
According to Cyril Dujardin, President of Eutelsat Group's Connectivity branch: "We are delighted that our partnership with Q-KON is growing stronger and are proud of the trust they have placed in us following the success of our first partnership. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with Q-KON, which relies on cutting-edge satellite solutions to meet the high expectations of the African market for reliable, available, and low-cost services."
"The continuation of our partnership with Eutelsat is very important to us, and we are delighted to reach this new milestone, which will enable us to expand and strengthen our LEO service offering across Southern Africa," added Dr. Dawie de Wet, CEO of the Q-KON Group. "This agreement will bring greater flexibility to our product portfolio and greater diversification to our services, enabling us to offer faster and more reliable connectivity that will empower businesses and support the digital transformation of the sub-Saharan continent."