South Africa wants its own broadband satellite
October 29, 2020
By Chris Forrester
South Africa’s government is supporting moves to build and launch its own satellite for broadband and internet.
The proposal comes in a report from the ‘Africa in Focus 2020’ study backed by the Brookings Institute and its Fourth Industrial Commission (4IR).
South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has already endorsed the idea, and says it would benefit the whole of the southern Africa SADC region including Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
As yet there are no tangible suggestions as to whether this would be a government-backed scheme or left to private enterprise.
South Africa is already served by a number of satellite operators providing satellite connectivity.