Facebook Launches Israeli-Made Satellite To Bring Internet to More of Africa
Facebook will launch an Israeli-made satellite to bring Internet access to sub-Saharan Africa.
The AMOS-6 satellite is being built by Israel Aerospace Industries and will be operated by the Israeli company Spacecom, in partnership with Eutelsat Communications of France.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the partnership with Eutelsat to launch the satellite on his Facebook page on Monday.
The satellite, which is expected to operate for 16 years, is set to launch in 2016, Zuckerman said.
The satellite costs about $300 million and Spacecom is expected to earn about $100 million from the deal, according to Reuters.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
