02 November 2023

Angola’s AngoSat-2 satellite is already used to provide telecoms and internet services to more than 150 remote locations in 16 of the country’s 18 provinces, revealed Mário Oliveira, minister of telecommunications, information technology and social communication.

According to the minister, the government has installed more than 150 VSAT terminals in the various localities concerned to capture satellite signals and provide telecom services to the populations.

This project comes approximately ten months after Angolan President João Lourenço authorized, by decree, the commercialization of AngoSat-2.

The satellite was orbited in October 2022 and by March 2023, was already providing free high-speed internet connectivity to hospitals, administrations, schools, and universities in seven provinces of Angola.

Angola Telecom has launched the ‘Conecta Angola’ to provide free internet connectivity in remote areas of Angola where none of the country’s mobile operators are active by relying on the capacities of the AngoSat-2 satellite. The project targets in particular public institutions such as schools, hospitals, and municipal administrations.

Meanwhile, Namibia is reporetedly interested in using the commercial services of AngoSat-2 to assist or reinforce the operation of Namibian Public Television (NBC).

The director general of NBC, Stanley Similo, recently met with Angola’s minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mario Oliveira, to discuss the possibility of commercial leasing.

Located at 23 degrees East, AngoSat-2 has six transponders in the C-band that cover all of Africa and part of southern Europe and 24 beams in the Ku-band that cover the Southern region and part of the centre of Africa.