The Pan-African telecommunications business, MTN, has stated that it is in talks with numerous satellite service providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, in order to expand its services to underserved areas throughout its operational market.
The business specifically stated that there is a continuing collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, with enterprise-grade trials currently happening in Rwanda and Nigeria.
MTN also stated that many efforts are in the works, including planned direct-to-cell trials with Lynk Global in South Africa and Ghana.
The company is also in talks with providers such as AST SpaceMobile about conducting testing in Nigeria and South Sudan. “In parallel, we are advancing discussions with Eutelsat OneWeb for a planned pilot in South Africa,” the company said.
MTN Group chief technology and information officer Mazen Mroué said in a statement announcing the strategic partnerships:
“At MTN, we are motivated by the conviction that everyone deserves the advantages of a modern, connected life. We are determined to deliver on our Ambition 2025 strategic aim of ‘Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.
Since time is of the essence, we acknowledge that we cannot do it alone. Collaboration is critical. We have helped overcome coverage gaps in rural areas in recent years by cooperating with many rollout partners and delivering new technology using OpenRAN.”
We are collaborating specifically on low earth orbit satellite communication to connect the disconnected, extend mobile connectivity to more rural and distant places, and improve resilience.
According to the CTO, these collaborations will help the company reach its objective of 95% broadband population coverage across its territory by 2025, up from 88% in 2022.
MTN stated that it would be able to provide universal access in the long run.
Mroué emphasized the inherent benefits of satellites to MTN’s service delivery, saying:
“LEO satellites typically orbit the Earth at altitudes ranging from 160 to 2,000 km, resulting in shorter orbital periods (ranging from 90 minutes to a few hours), which is beneficial for applications requiring rapid data communication or frequent re-visits of specific locations.”
Starlink initially declared its existence in Nigeria in January of this year and has since gained traction as more people have signed up for its satellite Internet service.
Despite its complete coverage of the country, the cost of its hardware and membership is prohibitively expensive for many Nigerians living in rural and unserved locations. A collaboration with MTN is expected to address this and give cheaper internet access to more Nigerians in rural areas.
