Iridium Satellite will be an official supplier to Connect Africa, a not-for-profit organization aiming to introduce mobile communication and public service facilities to rural communities across Africa, Iridium announced May 21.

Connect Africa will operate mobile units that will visit rural communities on a routine schedule to offer telephony, Internet and data services and completed proof-of-concept trials in South Africa earlier this year.

Connect Africa also plans to conduct a three-month service trial in Malawi later in 2007 with the help of African Parks, a conservation organization with wildlife refuge parks across the continent. Iridium is providing satellite voice, e-mail and data solutions for the test vehicle to be used in the Malawi field trials.