Facebook signs Eutelsat deal to beam down Internet in Africa

Oct 5, 2015 15:11 GMT  ·  By

Facebook has partnered with Eutelsat and will be delivering free Internet services to some remote parts of Africa starting with 2016.

The two companies will build a High Throughput Satellite system, with a dedicated broadband capacity, all on top of Eutelsat's Spacecom AMOS-6 satellite model.

Scheduled to start operations in the second half of 2016, this satellite system will be covering large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

This partnership is part of Facebook's Internet.org project, which aims to bring free Internet access to people in remote areas of the globe.

While many have criticized Internet.org as a way to get more users registering on Facebook, let's not forget the company's project also allows people in remote areas to use the Internet to read news, get weather information, and get basic access to health and hygiene information.

Facebook previously wanted to build its own satellite

Previously, in June, Facebook announced it was abandoning its plans of building its own satellite, mainly due to high development costs.

At that time, the rumored cost was of about $1 million/ €890 million, which eventually contributed to the project's cancellation.

"Facebook’s mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa," said Chris Daniels, VP of Internet.org. "We are looking forward to partnering with Eutelsat on this project and investigating new ways to use satellites to connect people in the most remote areas of the world more efficiently."

To help it manage its new project, Eutelsat will also set up a new office in London, just for the Internet.org cooperation, from where it will manage its African expansions.

Currently, Eutelsat provides satellite coverage for Europe, North and South America, Russia, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Facebook and Eutelsat project, planned coverage
Facebook and Eutelsat project, planned coverage

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Facebook teams up with Eutelsat to provide free Internet in Africa
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