27 February 2026

Located between Cameroon and South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR) is a country with a rich culture and natural beauty. However, providing reliable broadband communications and Internet connectivity throughout this landlocked country, and between the CAR and the rest of the world, has been challenging for the country’s social and economic development.

Prior to 2017, Orange CAR, one of the largest communications providers serving the CAR, found that delivering reliable services to its customers was problematic. At that time, 2G and 3G mobile services were the norm in the country, and 4G had not yet been deployed. Approximately 2 million residents – just 38% of the population – had mobile service, with 3G penetration accounting for about 60%, with 2G serving the remainder. Only a small fraction – 11% or approximately 600,000 residents – had Internet access, with an average download speed of 22.55Mbps on fixed connections. Orange CAR was able to address these problems and accelerate the deployment of services to the CAR by making use of SES’s multi-orbit network of MEO and GEO satellites.

20 February 2026

Brian Gorman, Fintech Lead at GSMA

South Africa is the second country to launch the Scam Signal, following its successful deployment in the UK to help combat Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, which occurs when criminals deceive individuals or businesses into authorising payments to accounts controlled by the fraudsters.

APP fraud often takes place through sophisticated social engineering tactics such as impersonating trusted organisations or manipulating victims into believing urgent action is required. This type of fraud is particularly significant because, unlike unauthorised transactions, victims have willingly initiated the payments, making it more challenging for banks to halt or reverse the losses.