Seacom Launches a Satellite Service after a Subsea Cable disruption

Seacom, a global Telecoms provider, has launched a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite service. The satellite is a form of the ones Elon Musk’s Starlink has popularized in recent years.

The service, which is being offered in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, is available to its enterprise clients and serves as another piece in a broader effort by the group to diversify beyond its traditional undersea cable operations.

Seacom Speaks on New Satellite

The company described this launch as an “evolutionary” shift in connectivity in South Africa. Furthermore, the company emphasized that the launch complements existing terrestrial broadband infrastructure and technologies. It also comes after a two-year process of consultation with industry partners.

It’s also a new experience for Seacom, best known to many people as the company that launched Africa’s first broadband submarine cable system. However, the company’s enterprise clients can now integrate LEO satellite connectivity into their network infrastructure and business continuity strategies.

In operation, data transmitted via satellite is routed to teleport facilities strategically placed across various geographic locations. Data is then routed from these facilities to various network centers and endpoints.

Seacom Satellite offers Essential Value

Unlike fixed-line and cellular broadband, satellite connectivity does not rely on local base stations or nodes. This independence allows LEO services to remain operational even when local infrastructure experiences failures, such as power outages.

Alpheus Mangale, Group Chief Executive Officer at Seacom, has been widely quoted in the regional press as saying: “The end goal is to make the LEO service an essential value offering for organizations of all shapes and sizes.” However, Seacom is not alone. Several major names, not least Starlink, are pursuing LEO opportunities in Africa.

Conclusion

According to Seacom, LEO is an excellent choice for enterprises in a variety of industries, including financial services, retail, mining, and education, that face low latency and high workloads.

Seacom has said it is partnering with one of South Africa’s leading financial service providers. That company will use LEO to expand its network access capabilities and ensure reliable product and service delivery.

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