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Technologies are evolving at incredible rates, and satellite internet is no exception. Faster, simpler, smoother... this solution for accessing the Internet from any corner of the globe has greatly improved in performance over the last few years. Satellite internet has many advantages in African countries, making it possible to open up rural, isolated or poorly served areas.

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Summary of the history of satellite internet

The launch of the first satellites into orbit opened the door to many possibilities. One of them was to make it possible to access the internet from any location, even the most remote. This was a new technology that emerged in the late 1990s. At that time, data was transmitted over telephone lines and latency was high. But since then, enormous technological progress has been made. Today, broadband access via the satellite network requires only very limited equipment:

  • A satellite dish;
  • A transceiver;
  • A modem.

This simplicity of access makes it possible to widely democratise the Internet, particularly among households that are excluded from the main traditional networks: optical fibre, ADSL or 4G. In rural areas, isolated towns or places where Internet connection is difficult, satellite broadband provides a simple and practical solution, even without a telephone line. For example, this type of network is used for certain military telecommunications, or during natural disasters that have damaged the infrastructure of the traditional network.

Eutelsat Konnect, a cutting-edge satellite

To further improve the performance of satellite internet, a new satellite has been developed and will be launched in 2020. The project is being carried out by Eutelsat with the support of Thalès Alenia Space. The result of a year and a half of research, this latest-generation satellite with 100% electric propulsion weighs 3.6 tonnes and is designed to last 15 years. This is a major achievement which will enable the development of this technology to be taken further, particularly in terms of speed and capacity, which will enable us to meet the ever-increasing need for data exchange.

For Eutelsat, the Eutelsat Konnect satellite represents a further step forward for the company's customers. Eutelsat is committed to constantly improving the quality of satellite broadband and to ensuring that the technology is widely available in Africa at prices that are affordable and adapted to all profiles.

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Le Satellite Konnect

Access the internet without compromise thanks to the satellite network

With numerous technological developments, satellite internet adds speedy access to the web to its long list of advantages. Even without access to ADSL or 4G, Eutelsat's Konnect offer provides connection speeds of up to 50Mbps or even 100Mbps, better than ADSL, which generally has a ceiling of 20Mbps. 4G networks and fibre optics allow for shorter latency times, but their accessibility is still limited to large African cities and urban areas, whereas satellite Internet is available in all countries covered by Eutelsat.

In concrete terms, satellite Internet allows access to the vast majority of content and meets almost all the needs of individuals. For example:

  • Consulting websites, emails or social networks;
  • Teleworking and videoconferencing;
  • Watching films, series or listening to music;
  • Shopping online;
  • and so on.

Businesses can also use the satellite network for their broadband access, whatever their size or field of activity, with various uses depending on the latter:

  • For agriculture: telemetry, meteorology, purchase of agricultural equipment, training in new cultivation or breeding techniques, information on phytosanitary products, etc;
  • For education: communication with other teachers, access to the national curriculum, information content, management and monitoring of students online... ;
  • For the mining industry: communication with headquarters or employees' families, management of schedules and teams...

As the possibilities are endless, we encourage you to discover our offers or contact us to find out how we can help your development through satellite internet.

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