Pan-African telecommunications firm Paratus Group has expanded its satellite internet footprint to Rwanda, intensifying its bid to dominate enterprise connectivity across East Africa.
- •The move follows a series of launches in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, extending the company’s growing partnership with Starlink, the global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
- •The Kigali-based subsidiary will provide and install Starlink services for business customers across the country, targeting sectors ranging from finance and retail to agriculture and tourism.
- •Recent disruptions to subsea cables across Africa have exposed vulnerabilities in regional internet infrastructure, pushing corporations and institutions to seek redundancy through satellite services.
“We are building Africa’s quality network by investing in infrastructure, services and people across the continent. Rwanda’s dynamic and fast-growing market aligns perfectly with our vision, and the addition of Paratus Rwanda strengthens our ability to serve customers with unmatched reach and reliability,” said the CEO of Paratus Group, Schalk Erasmus.
Paratus, which secured exclusive distribution rights for Starlink services in Africa in 2023, is positioning satellite connectivity as a complement to its terrestrial fiber assets, including the East-West route that stretches from Maputo to Swakopmund and connects to Google’s Equiano subsea cable. Together, these assets form a backbone for enterprise and government clients seeking resilient alternatives to regional cable-dependent networks.
Rwanda’s emergence as a regional technology hub, with expanding ICT infrastructure and policies that favor digital adoption, makes it a strategic choice for Paratus’s next phase of growth.
The launch follows Paratus’s rollout of Namibia’s first private nationwide mobile network earlier this year and its completion of the Johannesburg Express Route, a high-capacity link connecting Southern Africa to global internet exchanges.