The International Telecommunication Union reported in early 2025 that Africa still has the world’s lowest internet usage rate: only 38% of the population was online in 2024, compared to a global average of 68%.
Access also remains uneven. In urban areas, 57% were online, but in rural communities just 23% had access – one of the widest urban/rural gaps globally. Millions of rural Africans remain cut off from digital services.
This unmet demand across Africa, and in similar markets worldwide, is helping drive a new wave of satellite innovation. Each development adds complexity to the industry landscape, creating both opportunities and risks for ICT service providers. Below, I outline the key trends of 2025 and their potential impact.
‘Satellite internet’ to ‘satellite mobile service’
This year saw Starlink’s Direct to Cell capability move from beta to real-world service. Working with mobile operators, it aims to connect unmodified 4G phones directly to satellites for texting.
SpaceX also invested US$17-billion to acquire dedicated mobile-service spectrum from EchoStar, giving Starlink more control over its ecosystem – and positioning it to compete directly with terrestrial mobile networks in underserved areas.
Independent tests (around 4Mbit/s) show that while Direct to Cell isn’t fibre, it is already usable for basic communication such as messaging, light data and fallback connectivity – with room for improvement.
These speeds apply mainly to sparsely populated areas, and real-world performance will vary as more users connect and satellites become busier. Beam performance will also depend on regulatory and spectrum factors.
Regulation, spectrum licensing, device compatibility and standardisation remain major open questions, especially in Africa’s tightly regulated markets dominated by mobile network operators.
The road map is still evolving, but one thing is clear: Starlink has entered the mobile services arena, bringing both new possibilities and new complications for African markets.
1Tbit/s – anywhere, anytime
In November, ViaSat launched the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 (F2) satellite, described as “ultra-high capacity” with dynamic beamforming and frequency-agile payloads. The ViaSat-3 system can shift and concentrate bandwidth to geographic hotspots as demand changes. F2 is designed to serve Europe, the Middle East and Africa using Ka-band geostationary (GEO) services.
To illustrate its capability: assuming entry-level broadband users with an average demand of 10Mbit/s, ViaSat-3 F2 could support around a million users at a 1:10 active-to-standby ratio — if all capacity were allocated to Africa, which is unlikely. A more realistic number is about 500 000 users.
Despite being a GEO system with expected speeds of 500Mbit/s down and 50Mbit/s up at roughly 700ms latency, this service is appealing. Latency is often cited as a drawback of GEO satellites, but for many enterprises and governments, equipment cost, service pricing, reliability and regulatory compliance matter far more.
ViaSat-3 F2 is well positioned to serve organisations that need assured broadband with predictable quality-of-service.
Rapid expansion
This year marked a shift in the low-Earth orbit broadband sector, too. Starlink still dominates launches, but competition is accelerating.
Amazon’s Kuiper project – now branded Amazon Leo – will conduct 150 launches by year-end. Its first satellites covering Africa go live in mid-2026, with full service expected in 2027.
China’s Spacesail Qianfan (Thousand Sails) project accelerated deployment in 2025, with initial tests already underway. It is expected to launch 648 satellites by the end of 2025, towards a total constellation of 14 000 to 15 000.
The Spacesail constellation positions China as another major LEO provider – and, geopolitically, gives Africa an additional strategic option.
Eutelsat OneWeb also secured full support from the EU this year through the SpaceRise consortium and the Iris2 programme. The OneWeb Gen-2 constellation now benefits from significantly stronger political and financial backing as Europe prioritises digital sovereignty and independence.
For Africa, this means the future broadband market will be served by at least four major global LEO constellations, each shaped by different political and strategic agendas.
Conclusion
For the broadband satellite industry, 2025 was the year everything changed – and yet nothing is visibly different, at least not yet. It marked the beginning of a new constellation landscape that will shape global connectivity and Africa’s telecommunications future.
For the continent, this is an exciting and promising moment, with multiple global LEO and GEO operators investing to serve African markets.
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- The author, Dawie de Wet, is group CEO of Q-KON, a satellite engineering company pioneering smart satellite services in Africa through its flagship service, Twoobii
