By Elizabeth Chukwuma
For two years running, Avanti Communications Limited, described as the leading Ka-band high throughput satellite capacity partner to the global Communications industry in EMEA- extending and guaranteeing coverage for defence missions, enterprise solutions and critical public services has been named the Satellite market Leader in the Sub-Saharan African Continent, .
Thhe Communication outfit, which through the Hylas satellite fleet and partners in in 118 countries both within and outside the African Continent provides dedicated fixed and flexible- beam satellite connectivity , with extensive coverage across Europe, , Middle East and Africa. It was said to have invested over $1.2 billion in a network that incorporates orbital slots in ka –band spectrum, satellites, ground stations, data centres and fibre ring.
A top official of the company who was in Jo hannesburg, South Africa, on July 6, 2023,to witness the high profile event that had attracted Communications gurus and other dignitaries from all over the world, disclosed that ‘’the results from the 20th edition of the NSR Satellite Capacity Supply and demand analysis reports that The company‘s satellite market share in the Sub-Saharan African was double that of its closest rival company.
A document sighted by The Value News Communications Limited, shows that Avanti Share of the leased GEO-HTS market capacity in 2022, in the Sub-Saharan African was 33.1%. The closest rival company, Eutelsat, was said to have had 15.5, while other Companies like YahSat, share of the market was put at 13%, Intelsat,12.9%, Arabsat, 9.2%, Inmarsat, 8.4%, Spacecom,6.2% and the remaining two percent of the market, shared by other companies that had been identified a providing similar services in the African Continent.
Given an inside information, a top official of the Company who spoke on condition of anonymity dislosed that over the last five years, the Company , which has become a household names in the nation’s Digital Industry has made a significant commitment and expanding its investment in the African Continent.
He noted that the company’s ambition is ‘’to accelerate the growth and development across the African Continent through Local partnerships, connecting hard-to reach rural communities and improving network resiliency for critical Communications infrastructure which is central to a country’s economic growth strategy.
Kyle Whitehill , Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Avanti Communications Ltd who could not hide his joy that the NSR’s annual report , which is one of the industry most trusted and comprehensive sources for capacity analysis , offering insight ‘’to key market developments and dynamics could recognise it as a market Leader’’.
T Given its impressive performance over the last two years which had positioned it as a market Leader as it has connected more than 1,000 villages and schools and even providing critical services to people in Nigeria, Ghana, and Coted’Ivoire, all member countries of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, which currently has President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state, as the Chairman .
The Company was said to have also been providing satellite services to the East African countries of South Africa, Tanzania, Angola and the Central African country of Cameroun including the war orn-udan. Givenn the impressive performance of the Communications Company in the selected African countries in providing connectivity solutions may have informed why officials of the Company have gone back to the drawing board to plan on how to connect additional 1000 rural communities over the next five years within the African Continent that would impact on the millions of lives and enabling the residents of the rural communities ‘’ to enjoy a connected life’’.
The Company was said to have earmarked an additional $800 million to invest across the African Continent to connect more 1000 sites with satellite facilities. Whitehill, the Avanti Communications Limited CEO, had told those that cares to listen that Africa has limitless investment potentials, noting that the company still have more role to play in unlocking these potentials by providing connectivity solutions services.
He has described internet Connectivity as an enabler that provides vital resources and opportunities for individuals, businesses and Communities to thrive, insisting that the Company will not stop in expanding its investment in Nigeria and other African countries until ‘’it has connected the over 871 million people currently living without basic internet connection’’.
He had said that more than a fifth of the company’s employee are based in the most populous African country, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Angola and neighbouring Benin Republic.
