Small business in Sub-Saharan Soho will be LIT up
Eutelsat Communications and pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies have signed a multi-year, multi-beam agreement for the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to offer broadband connections to small businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Capacity on the Konnect service will be sold to Cassava subsidiary Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) which will be resold to small and medium enterprises and small/home office (SOHO) customers in Uganda, South Sudan and the Eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Under the agreement, Liquid will add capacity on the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to its existing portfolio of ‘affordable’ internet services in order to reach areas terrestrial networks couldn’t serve. Liquid is already a long-standing partner of Eutelsat, where it uses Ku-band capacity on Eutelsat’s EUTELSAT 7B satellite for VSAT services in Sub-Saharan Africa under a long-term contract that was renewed and expanded in 2021.
Liquid will also host the first Eutelsat Konnect ground gateway in Sub-Saharan Africa, establishing a key satellite Ground Segment / Teleport operator in the region. The gateway, in Krugersdorp, South Africa will help the high throughput satellite offering to expand local coverage and win new business.
“We offer satellite services in over 27 African countries, impacting the lives of over 1.3 billion people,” said Scott Mumford, CEO of Liquid Satellite Services. “With this agreement, we will expand our service portfolio to include Ka-band services for the first time, creating a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind.” Michel Azibert, Eutelsat’s Deputy CEO said Liquid Intelligent Technologies has unique expertise and local know-how to deliver best-in-class services to businesses across the continent.