Facebook Inc. announced Monday its partnership with France’s Eutelsat Communications to launch a satellite that will bring Internet access to sub-Saharan Africa, as part of its Internet.org platform.
As several news agencies report, the AMOS-6 satellite is currently being built by Israel Aerospace Industries, and will be operated by Israeli company Spacecom, in conjunction with Eutelsat. AMOS-6 is reportedly one of several Israeli communication satellites that Spacecom is sending into space.
“AMOS-6 enhances Spacecom’s existing service offering by supporting a full range of services, including Direct-To-Home (DTH), video distribution, VSAT communications and broadband Internet,” the company stated.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his popular social media platform to announce the news Monday. The satellite, currently under construction, is set to launch in 2016, and is expected to operate for 16 years. According to Reuters, it will primarily be providing Internet access via mobile phones.
The satellite is reportedly costing some US$300 million to develop, and is expected to earn Spacecom US$100 million, Reuters reports.
According to the United Nations Broadband Commission, more than half the world’s population is still offline, a statistic that Zuckerberg and Facebook are looking to change through this new endeavour.
