In order to provide broadband connectivity services in African nations, OneWeb has struck a distribution deal with Q-KON Africa, a specialised technology firm that offers solutions based on satellite, wireless, and VoIP technologies. Through their satellite broadband service, Twoobii, Q-KON Africa consistently and successfully connects “off-grid” sites to core networks across Africa.
Customers of Q-KON Africa’s Twoobii service will have access to high-speed, low-latency broadband through the OneWeb LEO satellite network, which will connect even the most remote or rural regions throughout many African nations. These include Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique in addition to South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland (eSwatini), and Namibia.
During this month’s AfricaCom digital infrastructure conference in South Africa, a five-year distribution strategy was finalised. By doing so, Q-KON Africa will be able to utilise the full potential of OneWeb’s network and connect schools, hospitals, civil government and other fixed enterprise and fintech services throughout the continent including banking, mining, and backhaul solutions.
With this statement, OneWeb is making its most recent effort to close the digital divide in Africa by fostering close industry partnerships with regional infrastructure and service providers. OneWeb is still on schedule to launch its coverage solutions in Africa and other regions of the world in 2023.
“At OneWeb, we believe that connection everywhere changes everything and that’s why we are thrilled to be partnering with the engineering experts at Q-KON Africa to further our mission to connect those hardest to reach to the internet. Q-KON Africa’s strong industry understanding, flexibility, agility and local support will help us see OneWeb’s LEO satellite network create opportunities to benefit unconnected and under-connected areas across Africa for today’s digital environment. This agreement is another example of OneWeb’s continued momentum, as we remain on track to activate coverage solutions in Africa and globally in 2023,” said Ben Griffin, VP of Mobility and AMEA at OneWeb.
Dawie de Wet, Group CEO of Q-KON Africa and Chief Engineer for Twoobii, added: “For us, OneWeb’s global lead and focus to deliver assured business grade, high-performance satellite services are the perfect option to expand our successful Twoobii Smart Satellite Services for Southern Africa. OneWeb’s technology innovations will deliver data speeds of 100Mbps and low latency of 70msec, which will enable us to further service the business, enterprise and financial markets. Leveraging emerging technologies to open new markets is in our DNA and we look forward to leading this new era in partnership with OneWeb.”
