Facebook Partners with Eutelsat to Pioneer Internet Service in Remote Regions Through Satellite Launch

In a bid to expand internet access to even the most remote regions of the world, Facebook is set to launch a satellite as part of its ambitious Internet.org project. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced Facebook’s collaboration with French company Eutelsat on this ground-breaking initiative.

The Internet.org program, driven by a vision of a globally connected world, aims to bridge the digital divide by bringing internet service to far-flung places where accessibility remains a challenge. In June, Senegal joined the list of beneficiaries, becoming the sixth African country to receive the internet.org service.

Underscoring the game-changing aspects of this partnership, Zuckerberg illuminated, “Through our collaboration with Eutelsat, we’re launching a newly constructed satellite, AMOS-6, which is set to provide extensive internet coverage to substantial parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite will be launched into a geostationary orbit in 2016, blanketing large regions of West, East and Southern Africa with internet coverage.”

He further conveyed plans for implementation at a grassroots level stating, “We’re forging partnerships with local players across these regions to facilitate community-level access to internet services delivered via satellite.”

Built into the internet.org app are certain limitations on what users can access, with the current focus being on essential tools like healthcare and financial services. However, Facebook is steadily broadening its canvas, enabling third-party applications under certain restrictions. Bandwidth-intensive applications such as VoIP and Video streaming are not yet accommodated within their scheme.

This satellite proposal isn’t Facebook’s only venture into alternate modes of internet service delivery. Back in April, the tech colossus made waves by testing drones for the potential supply of internet services.

Facebook’s partnership with Eutelsat and the ensuing satellite launch will certainly mark an important milestone in Internet.org’s ambitious quest to bring the internet closer to everyone around the globe.