NAIROBI – Amazon has announced the launch of its satellite internet services in South Africa by 2027, marking the continent’s first such agreement after authorization requests have already been filed in countries like Kenya. Amazon Leo, the group’s branch that deals with low Earth orbit satellites, has signed an agreement with local provider Herotel to activate broadband connection services in one of Africa’s most industrialized economies.
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The goal of the agreement is to expand network coverage in rural and less infrastructured areas of South Africa, launching a challenge to Elon Musk’s Starlink in the same country of origin of the South African-American billionaire. Starlink has already spread its services in 27 of the 55 countries under the African Union umbrella, but has been stuck in a long-running controversy with Pretoria over laws included in the Black economic empowerment, the post-apartheid framework that imposes a minimum black shareholding quota on international investors.
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The agreement and the challenge of African satellite internet
Amazon Leo’s services will integrate into Herotel’s existing platform, which today boasts a base of 350,000 active users in 550 locations across the country through fiber and wireless networks. The goal of the agreement, according to a statement released by Amazon, is to reach especially the “millions of South Africans living on farms, in small towns, and rural communities” who “do not yet have a reliable Internet connection” due to lack of adequate infrastructure. The partnership, writes Jeff Bezos’ giant, builds on a South African presence spanning two decades and “on the growth moment of Amazon Leo in Africa.” The group is simultaneously working on a partnership with mobile Internet service company Vanu to expand phone connectivity in rural areas of the same South Africa, although growth ambitions seem aimed at the entire continental market. Amazon Leo has deployed 400 satellites so far, “enough to be used at some latitudes.” Today Africa records the lowest internet access rate globally, with a connected population share estimated by the World Bank at 36% in 2025. Satellite services offered by Musk’s Starlink and now Amazon are classified as one of the most functional technologies for widespread connectivity, overcoming infrastructure gaps and promoting network extension even in the continent’s less connected areas.
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