Africa

Streamlined and ready for Africa’s growth markets: Q&A with Avanti Communications CEO Kyle Whitehill
SpaceNews spoke with Kyle Whitehill, Avanti’s chief executive officer, to learn more about the British satellite operator’s plans to expand across Africa.

Op-ed | Space initiatives in Africa offer a canvas of opportunity
More than ever before, the promise and potential in space is available to those with the ambition to reach for it. Nowhere is this story more exciting and compelling than in Africa.

Eutelsat’s Konnect Africa business struggles to lift off
Eutelsat executives said the challenges getting Konnect Africa off the ground since 2016 are now largely in the rearview, but have nonetheless pushed any material revenue from the growth initiative out to the company’s next fiscal year.

Eutelsat, amid revenue decline, says year will rebound
A slow start for Eutelsat’s Konnect Africa broadband venture and losses in activities beyond the fleet operator’s core business contributed to a 4.4 percent decline in revenue during the last half of 2018.

Angola eyes new satellite as African space race accelerates
While Angola’s first telecom satellite, Angosat-1, failed not long after reaching orbit late last year, the sub-Saharan African nation will get a second shot at satellite ownership with the planned 2020 launch of Angosat-2.

With Hylas-4 in orbit, Avanti hopes to take lead in African HTS
In the months preceding the launch of Avanti’s Hylas-4 satellite, the British operators didn’t mince words when it described the importance of a successful mission as “critical.”

Zenit rocket launches Angola’s long-awaited first satellite
A Zenit rocket, flying for the first time in two years, successfully orbited Angola’s debut satellite Angosat-1 on Dec. 26.

Yahsat satellite delay punts Eutelsat’s Konnect Africa growth to 2019
Delays with Yahsat’s Al Yah 3 satellite, now more than a year past its initial launch target, have forced Eutelsat Communications to hold off on expanding its Konnect Africa broadband business until next year.

Eutelsat expands ViaSat JV, shrugs off Sky going dishless
Satellite fleet operator Eutelsat says it sees “absolutely no impact” from British broadcaster Sky’s new satellite-free U.K. television product, and that it is GEO, not LEO, that will prove to be the most effective means of connecting underserved populations today.

Yahsat’s Mahmood on Brazil, Africa, Facebook and future satellites
When Yahsat decided to invest in its first satellite for Brazil, the the Dubai, UAE-based operator probably didn’t foresee the triple-whammy of a Zika virus outbreak, presidential impeachment, and double-digit unemployment

Eutelsat recommits to Africa broadband without Facebook, and to 2-year revenue turnaround
Satellite fleet operator Eutelsat on Oct. 27 reassured a nervous stock market by reconfirming the company’s revenue and profit forecast and showing concrete results from its design-to-cost strategy.

For African ISPs Like SkyVision, the Middle is a Nice Place to Be
SkyVision Chief Executive Ori Waterman on what it's like to be an African ISP at a time of rising customer demand and falling bandwidth prices.

After Friending Facebook, Eutelsat Orders Satellite for sub-Saharan Africa
Eutelsat's order — which comes on the heals of an agreement with Facebook to lease satellite capacity over sub-Saharan Africa — is the first high-throughput satellite sale for Thales Alenia Space and is based on the company’s Spacebus Neo product line