Facebook will partner with Eutelsat, one of the world's leading satellite operators with a powerful fleet of satellites serving users across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, to launch a new satellite that will provide Internet access direct to Africans.
AMOS-6, Facebook-Eutelsat satellite, is currently under construction and will enter its service next year. This project is part of Internet.org (which includes other tech companies like Opera, Samsung, and Qualcomm) initiative to bring billions of people around the world online.
Internet.org’s network infrastructure already includes drones and a laser communication system that are now undergoing lab tests, but this is its first project to provide Internet access from space, said Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg in a post.
The companies will share AMOS-6's Ka-band transponders, using them to deliver spot-beam coverage to West, East and Southern Africa. The geostationary satellite carries 36 Ka-band transponders, up to 24 of which could be used simultaneously, although Facebook and Eutelsat intend to use just 18 of them in order to improve performance, said Eutelsat spokeswoman Vanessa O'Connor.
AMOS-6 will cost around $200 million to build and will be launch next year. It also carries Ku-band transponders that will deliver TV service to Europe and the Middle East, and is intended as a replacement for AMOS-2, which launched in 2003, according to Spacecom's website.
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