The Konnect Africa broadband venture set up by Eutelsat Communications has this month officially launched new-generation services, starting in Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.

Konnect Africa’s innovative service offerings and products, including packaged offers inspired by ‘pay as you go’ models and Wi-Fi hotspot schemes, are fully aligned with the needs and preferences of end-users in these different markets. First partners include local operators, telecom companies and resellers, notably AfrikaNet GoSat (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire), Bentley Walker (multiple African markets), Bloosat (Cameroon, Central Africa), Coollink (Nigeria), Global Broadband Solution (Democratic Republic of Congo), Terrace Projects (South Africa), Ubora Systems (Kenya), as well as China Telecom that is establishing communications links between the African continent and the Asia-Pacific region. These partners will benefit from dedicated commercial, marketing and technical support from Konnect Africa and training aimed at enhancing service quality.

Konnect Africa is initially using capacity on Yahsat’s Al Yah 2 satellite (16 Ka-band spotbeams) with expansion supported by a further 18 spotbeams on the Al Yah 3 satellite that is scheduled for launch by the end of 2017. Konnect Africa aims to cover most of Sub-Saharan Africa by 2019.

Laurent Grimaldi, CEO of Konnect Africa, commented: “Connecting Africa means changing the way people live, study, perform business, and transforming daily life. We aim to take broadband further and closer to multiple development sectors such as the healthcare system, education, agriculture or SMEs. We are proud to partner with prominent players and excited to embark on this truly unique venture.”