GiSAT-1 is a high-throughput satellite (HTS) with 150Gbps of capacity, which is currently under construction by The Boeing Company, and it will help Global-IP to bring cost-effective Internet and related value-added services to Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Our agreement with SpaceX marks the completion of another major milestone towards getting our innovative service platform operational to serve a growing market with lagging internet penetration,” said Emil Youssefzadeh, co-founder of Global-IP.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch GiSAT-1 and deployment is scheduled for Q4 2018. It will launch GiSAT-1 into its trajectory for geostationary orbit off the west coast of Africa and GiSAT-1 will have a mission life of 15 years.
Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, said: “We are pleased to partner with Global-IP for this important mission. Once fully deployed, this satellite will expand Internet services across Sub-Saharan Africa, benefiting both consumers and businesses.”
Youssefzadeh added: “Global-IP’s first HTS will cover areas across Sub-Saharan Africa with a combined population of over 800 million people. We envision our investment in this project will increase the Internet penetration across the region and contribute significantly to the economic growth of all the countries we will serve.”
