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Eutelsat’s Konnect Africa and Vodacom Partner to Bring High-Speed Broadband to Unserved Regions of Tanzania

December 02, 2021

Eutelsat Communications and Vodacom Tanzania PLC have signed a service agreement for packaged services to bring connectivity to underserved regions of Tanzania, leveraging Eutelsat’s EUTELSAT KONNECT high-throughput satellite.

Following a successful Proof of Concept trial, Vodacom will commercialize services on the EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite under its own brand, building out its service offer to customers previously unreached by its existing infrastructure, notably in the B2B and hospitality verticals. Installation services will be undertaken by Konnect Africa on behalf of Vodacom.

Founded in 2000, Vodacom Tanzania, part of the UK’s Vodafone Group, is Tanzania’s leading telecommunications company providing a wide range of services for consumers and enterprise including voice, data, messaging, financial services and enterprise solutions and counting over 15 million customers. Vodacom Tanzania PLC’s strategy incorporates inclusion for all while bridging the digital divide gap. As a result, this partnership means a lot to Vodacom, as it will serve people who have been without connection since independence.

In service since end 2020, EUTELSAT KONNECT is a new-generation High Throughput Satellite offering unprecedented operational flexibility. Delivering significant resources for broadband services with quasi-complete coverage of Sub-Saharan Africa, it addresses direct-to-user consumer and enterprise broadband services.

Commenting on the agreement, Sitholizwe Mdlalose, Managing Director of Vodacom Tanzania PLC said: “We are delighted to incorporate satellite to our suite of services, leveraging the state-of-the art EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite to fulfil our mission to deliver connectivity to all regions of Tanzania. With Konnect, Vodacom will cover 100% of the country, connecting all regions, districts and villages no matter how remote they are. With this service, we will connect everyone, this includes areas which are not covered today, giving access to services up to 100Mbps.”

Philippe Baudrier, Chief Executive Officer of Konnect Africa added: “We are excited to partner with Vodacom, a leading pan-African telecom operator, to extend the reach of its services in Tanzania. This agreement illustrates the unparalleled resources of our powerful EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite to satisfy the strong demand for connectivity in underserved regions of the African continent and marks another success in the development of our distribution capabilities following recent additions in Nigeria, South-Africa and DRC.”