US, Europe begin scramble for Africa’s satellite internet market

Europe joins US in the battle for under-served African customers in an already competitive internet market – with France eyeing up to 26 African markets, majority being francophone countries.

SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | A new scramble for Africa’s satellite market between the US and Europe is underway, as France targets to connect 26 African countries with high-speed space-powered internet.

Thales Alenia Space, one of Europe’s largest telecommunications, navigation and surveillance satellite makers, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a Moroccan private equity firm, Panafsat, to develop a geostationary telecommunications satellite in Morocco.

As part of the MoU, the two companies said in a joint statement that Thales Alenia Space will develop ‘a very high-performance flexible satellite to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation- serving a combined population of over 550 million people.’

Panafsat Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Toumi described the project as the next critical stage in the digital transformation process and developing a digital economy in Morocco and across Africa.

“It will change the lives of millions of people eager to benefit from Internet access and all the essential services they need,” he said.

The MoU was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco at the end of October, in the presence of Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Moroccan minister of economy and finance, and Antoine Armand, French minister of economy, finance, and industry.

Most of the targeted African markets (23) will be French-speaking nations, with the remaining three being Anglo-phone.

“The project will make a significant contribution to bridging the digital divide in rural areas, as well as boosting economic growth and strengthening digital sovereignty across the African continent,” said Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey.

The entry of Thales Alenia Space comes at a time when American spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX is recording significant milestones on the continent – including the recent sell-out of Starlink terminals in five out of 12 African countries, including Madagascar, a French-speaking nation.

Since it began making inroads into the continent more than a year ago, Starlink has faced numerous regulatory hurdles, especially in French-speaking countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, and Senegal.

However, there appears to be some light in most francophone countries, with Starlink’s coverage map highlighting availability prospects in these markets by the end of 2024 and 2025.

Starlink projects it would go live in Mauritania, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon and Chad by the close of the year, with a 2025 start date for countries like Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon and DR Congo.

Starlink has been approved to operate in Mozambique, Eswatini, Botswana, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Madagascar.

Thales Alenia Space’s entry into Africa is also considered part of its strategic plan to counter diminishing ‘traditional telecommunications satellite markets’ in Europe – from rising competition in the commercial customer space by global rivals like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

European aerospace group Thales, with a 67% stake in Thales Alenia Space, is reportedly exploring a merger of its satellite operations with another pan-European aerospace group, Airbus (also headquartered in France), that would make a market-dominating player to counter competition, according to the Financial Times and Reuters.

Research and Markets projects the global small satellite market to grow to US$11.2 billion by 2029, from US$5.2 billion in 2024, stimulated by increasing demand for commercial satellites boosting the launching of small satellites.

“They are widely accepted since they are affordable, have short developing periods and can serve various purposes such as telecommunication, earth observation, etc,” according to the Research and Markets report.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU’s) “Facts and Figures 2023” report, 37% of the African population had internet access in 2023, rising from a modest 16% in 2013.

Young and tech-savvy African consumers are driving demand for high-speed internet, with the rise of streaming, online gaming, voice calls over the internet, and remote working and learning, fueling demand.

However, at 37%, Africa’s connectivity falls below 67% of the global average internet usage, sparking the satellite internet scramble on the continent.

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Conrad Onyango, bird story agency

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