Facebook To Beam Free Internet To Sub-Saharan Africa

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Facebook announced Monday that it is partnering with Eutelsat to bring Internet connectivity to remote parts of Africa.

Under the multi-year agreement with Spacecom (the satellite provider), the two companies will use the entire broadband payload on a future geo-stationary Ka-band AMOS-6 satellite that is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2016.

Terminals in Africa will be linked by the satellite to dedicated Internet gateways in France, Italy, and Israel. These terminals have dish antennas with a diameter of about 75 centimeters.

The AMOS-6 carries 36 transponders, 24 of which can be operated simultaneously. However, it is likely that only 18 will actually be used in this manner.

The system is designed to reach to large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, which is an area currently beyond the range of existing fixed and mobile terrestrial networks.

"Facebook's mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa," said Chris Daniels, vice president of Facebook's internet connectivity initiative, Internet.org, in its press statement. "We are looking forward to partnering with Eutelsat on this project and investigating new ways to use satellites to connect people in the most remote areas of the world more efficiently."

Internet.org, which launched a projected targeted at the Indian market, aims to "connect the two thirds of the world that doesn't have internet access."

However, the project has been criticized in the past for not providing net-neutral access, and for limiting the sites to which it connects (like Facebook and some local partners). Some have seen it as Facebook's attempt to tap into emerging markets to fuel Facebook's own growth.

Typically, Facebook partners with local cellular operators who provide the low-speed phone bandwidth needed. Facebook takes care of marketing to the end-users.

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Paris-based Eutelsat currently provides satellite capacity for many parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. It is used by TV, radio, and cable networks, and has access to 39 satellites that orbit the Earth.

Eutelsat will be setting up a new company to be based in London that will oversee the African satellite broadband rollout. It will use its share of the bandwidth to offer Internet access to small and medium-size businesses and to more affluent consumers with its own commercial solutions.