Globacom picks Eutelsat to deliver rural satellite broadband services in Nigeria

PARIS, France – In the presence of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and Globacom have signed at the Elysée Palace in Paris, a multi-year, multi-Gbps wholesale capacity contract, enabling Globacom to extend its coverage beyond the reach of its terrestrial infrastructure, leveraging the EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite.

The service will be used to deliver high-speed broadband via satellite to businesses and communities in unconnected and underserved areas throughout Nigeria. Globacom, trading under the name Glo, is a multinational telecommunications company and the second largest operator in Nigeria, with a market share of circa 28% and over 51 million subscribers.

In service since early 2021, EUTELSAT KONNECT is a new-generation High Throughput Satellite offering unprecedented operational flexibility. Delivering significant resources for broadband services with quasi-complete coverage of Sub-Saharan Africa, it adresses direct-to- user consumer and enterprise broadband services, with a comprehensive range of packages from bite-sized “pay as you go” vouchers through to monthly and annual contracts.

Commenting on the agreement, Rodolphe Belmer, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat, said: “We are honoured to have been selected by Globacom, one of the leading telecommunications operators in Africa’s most populous market, to extend the reach of its services. This agreement illustrates the unparalled resources of our powerful EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite to satisfy the strong demand for connectivity in underserved regions throughout the African continent.”

Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., Chairman of Globacom Limited, added: “We are delighted to add satellite services to our portfolio, leveraging the state-of-the art EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite to extend connectivity to even far-flung areas in Nigeria, in line with our mission to build Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications network. The infrastructure will complement our Glo 1 submarine cable and extensive fibre optic layout across the country.”