A new satellite (Al Yah 3) scheduled for launch in 2016 may allow Africans and Brazilians to access cheaper internet service, as reported by Yahsat.
According to the media report, once the satellite is live and in orbit, Al Yah 3 is expected to cover 17 countries and grant affordable internet services to 600 million people. Al Yah 3 will be based on orbital science corporation’s GEOStar-3 platform, and features Ka High Throughput technology that will deliver gigabits of internet data to customers in Africa and Brazil.
Marcus Vilaca, the company’s acting chief technical officer said: “[Yahsat] is actively engaging with potential partners in Africa and Brazil, enabling us to deploy much-needed connectivity to underserved markets”.
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) is a private joint stock company that is fully owned by Mubadala, the investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. They develop customised satellite solutions for the government as well as the commercial sector in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Central and South West Asia.
Yahclick, a satellite-based internet service offered by the company, is already operational in South Africa courtesy of the company’s ‘Y1A’ and ‘Y1B’ satellites that went up in April 2011 and April 2012 respectively.
