Network infrastructure company Paratus will build a new gateway for telecommunications provider OneWeb in Luanda, Angola, that will provide low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services to several countries in the region.

Paratus signed a multi-year agreement with OneWeb to build the gateway, which will be operational in the second half of 2023 and will bring secured solutions to enterprises, as well as towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach regions of multiple African countries.

This is the first of several planned OneWeb gateways in Africa. The teleport, or gateway, will consist of 16 antennas and a network hosting facility, linking to OneWeb’s LEO infrastructure and thereby connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa, Paratus added.

“When considering the size and persistence of the digital divide, and the connectivity barriers for businesses operating in rural or remote areas, the need for LEO satellite options are obvious. On a global scale, mobile Internet penetration is still only 50% and many of those who remain offline reside in Africa. By installing OneWeb teleports linked to hundreds of LEOs, we can bridge that divide effectively and affordably,” said OneWeb Ground Infrastructure director Joe Paciaroni.

“We have chosen to partner with Paratus Angola because the group is rooted in Africa; it totally understands and invests in meeting market demands; and because Paratus is committed to transforming African connectivity through exceptional digital infrastructure.”

This agreement, combined with the recent launch of the Paratus fibre connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the inauguration of the Paratus Group’s data centres in Zambia and Namibia, and coverage in all of the Angolan provinces, means that Paratus has the requisite infrastructure to provide a highly sophisticated network hub in Angola and one that allows for expansion beyond its borders, said Paratus Group CTO Rolf Mendelsohn.

“With this agreement, we are taking another giant step in realising our plan to use Angola as a communications hub for the region. Being selected as the preferred partner to install the gateway in Angola for OneWeb reaffirms our superior capability in developing world class telecommunications infrastructure in Africa,” he said.