07 October 2025
Kallie Carlsen, MD of Paratus South Africa
The demand for increased connectivity across Africa is determined and shaped by the continent’s unique geography, population distribution and infrastructure. Africa spans vast geographical areas with low population density and this makes traditional infrastructure deployment expensive and therefore both economically and logistically challenging.
Another major challenge in many regions is unreliable power infrastructure. This means that these countries need connectivity solutions that have low power requirements or independent and backup power sources. Another complication is limited terrestrial infrastructure, with fibre connectivity being concentrated in urban centres and coastal regions. At the same time, there is an urgent need for affordable solutions, given the economic constraints across most markets, as well as resilience due to all the harsh environmental conditions and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Connectivity demands vary significantly across the continent. Southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, benefits from more developed infrastructure but faces high demand for reliable backup solutions due to power instability and the need for backhaul redundancy. East African nations such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have strong mobile penetration with a growing demand for high-capacity solutions for both business and education sectors. West African countries, such as Nigeria and Ghana, have dense urban populations that need high-capacity solutions alongside remote resource sector connectivity. Central African nations, including DRC, have minimal existing infrastructure and a critical need for basic connectivity across vast territories. North Africa generally has more developed fixed-line infrastructure, but this region is now experiencing growing demand for high-capacity wireless solutions.
Resource-rich African countries can prioritise industrial connectivity for mining and oil/gas operations, while service-oriented economies on the continent tend to focus more upon urban business connectivity and digital inclusion initiatives.
Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology offers key advantages, but it is not a universal solution for Africa’s connectivity challenges. Its strengths include low latency, high bandwidth, rapid deployment and wide coverage footprint, and is therefore ideal for remote industrial sites, disaster recovery, backup solutions, rural schools and clinics, and temporary project sites. However, it faces limitations including cost constraints, licensing complexity, terminal availability and weather vulnerability. LEO is transformational for specific use cases but is best when integrated with, rather than replacing, terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in population centres where fibre and mobile connectivity are more economical at scale. LEO works best as part of a connectivity ecosystem rather than as a standalone solution.
The integration of geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO) and LEO satellites is creating new opportunities across Africa. These different orbital satellite technologies provide complementary coverage profiles, which enable application-specific deployment that uses the right satellite technology for specific use cases. The multi-layered approach delivers significant redundancy benefits and provides enhanced reliability for critical communications. Telecommunications providers are now able to offer customised solutions based on specific client needs rather than one-size-fits-all satellite packages. A competitive ecosystem with multiple operators is therefore driving innovation and price competition, and this multi-layered approach has accelerated market development.
The mining sector in Africa is a strong example of where satellite connectivity adds strategic value. In remote operations, connectivity supports technologies such as automation, remote equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance. It also improves worker safety by enabling the tracking of staff movements and monitoring environmental factors like dust, gas levels or temperature to ensure safe conditions. In addition, satellite connectivity supports sustainability goals by enabling data collection that helps monitor environmental performance. Given the high operational value of mining sites, these locations often justify the use of premium connectivity solutions, whether as a primary service or a backup to terrestrial links.
Making satellite connectivity affordable in Africa is a complex issue. Business case viability is increasingly evident for enterprise applications where the investment can be justified by the numerous operational benefits. However, the barriers for consumer adoption remain because services are still prohibitively expensive for individual consumers that are not offered any subsidisation. Government initiatives are making satellite connectivity more viable for targeted applications, such as for rural schools and healthcare facilities. The price trajectory is encouraging, and costs are declining as competition increases and technology advances.
While Africa will remain mobile-first for the foreseeable future, satellite connectivity will be increasingly embedded in the connectivity ecosystem as a critical complement to terrestrial solutions, particularly as hybrid network architectures become more sophisticated.
