Artist rendition of the SES O3b mPOWER constellation. Photo: SES

SES has signed a three-year capacity deal with iSAT Africa to provide 4G mobile service in East Africa via the O3b mPOWER satellite constellation. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the July 15 announcement. 

iSAT Africa is among the first companies in Africa to sign up for O3b mPOWER. This new service will first be available through SES’s O3b Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and will subsequently migrate to O3b mPOWER in 2022. According to SES, this connectivity will allow iSAT Africa to quickly scale its network to meet anticipated  connectivity demands, and it will allow local mobile operators to deploy 4G services to close the digital divide

“At iSAT Africa, we don’t just believe in delivering connectivity to everyone across Africa. It’s also about delivering differentiated, cost-effective and reliable services that will enable various businesses to expand. This agreement represents a leap towards achieving that mission with iSAT Africa being able to deliver 4G services to communities and businesses located in underserved areas,” said Rakesh Kukreja, founder and managing director at iSAT Africa.