Angola has opened access to its national communications satellite, Angosat-2, to commercial telecom operators as part of efforts to expand internet coverage beyond the reach of fibre and mobile networks.

The government launched a new satellite access hub on December 16, enabling startups, internet service providers and telecom companies to apply for direct access to Angosat-2 capacity. Officials described the platform as a mechanism to facilitate technical and commercial onboarding, rather than an immediate nationwide consumer rollout.

Angosat-2, launched in 2022 to replace the failed Angosat-1 mission, is designed to provide broadband connectivity, television broadcasting and secure communications services across Angola and parts of southern Africa. However, the satellite’s total bandwidth capacity, transponder allocation and pricing framework have not been publicly disclosed.

Until now, Angosat-2 capacity has primarily been used for government and institutional purposes. Opening the satellite to private operators is intended to complement terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in remote provinces where fibre deployment remains limited and mobile coverage is uneven.

The initiative is being coordinated by Angola’s state-owned space and satellite authorities, which aim to stimulate a domestic satellite-services market and reduce reliance on foreign capacity providers. No confirmation has yet been given on which operators have secured access or when commercial services are expected to scale.

The move comes as competition intensifies across Africa’s satellite connectivity market, with global low-Earth-orbit (LEO) operators expanding regional coverage. Unlike LEO systems, Angosat-2 operates in geostationary orbit, offering wide-area coverage but with different latency and capacity characteristics.

Officials said the access hub marks the start of a phased commercialisation process, with further technical and regulatory details expected to follow as operators integrate satellite capacity into hybrid fibre-mobile networks.