By Nqobile Dludla
JOHANNESBURG, July 15 (Reuters) - Amazon's low-earth orbit satellite internet venture Amazon Leo has signed an agreement with South Africa's Herotel to launch a new broadband service aimed at connecting underserved rural communities, it said on Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Herotel, South Africa's largest fixed internet service provider, will use Amazon Leo's satellite technology to offer a new service called evry, which is expected to launch commercially in 2027 for residential
customers.
The deal comes as satellite internet providers race to expand in Africa. SpaceX's Starlink is also seeking to enter the South African market, but is awaiting proposed changes to licensing rules that could allow foreign satellite operators to meet local ownership and empowerment requirements through alternatives to equity stakes.
Amazon Leo and Herotel said their partnership would help address a longstanding connectivity gap in South Africa, where millions of people living on farms, in small towns and rural communities remain beyond the reach of reliable internet services because conventional fibre and wireless networks are often uneconomical to deploy.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"This collaboration is about breaking down barriers and unlocking opportunity for millions of people who don't yet have reliable access for work, education, or the services they depend on," David Zapolsky, Amazon's chief global affairs and legal officer, said in a statement.
Herotel, owned by Maziv, serves more than 350,000 customers across over 550 towns through fibre and fixed wireless networks and operates 120 offices nationwide. The company said that footprint would allow it to provide installation, customer service and field operations for the satellite service from launch.
Earlier this year, Amazon Leo signed an agreement with Vodafone to link Vodafone's network to base stations in hard-to-reach locations in Africa, through its South Africa subsidiary Vodacom.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
