AXIAN partners with AST SpaceMobile to connect rural Africa

Millions of people across Africa live beyond the reach of mobile networks. Two companies are now betting they can fix that from space.

AXIAN Telecom, parent of pan-African telecom group Yas, has announced a partnership with AST SpaceMobile to deliver what both companies are calling Africa’s first direct-to-device satellite broadband service. The deal means voice calls, video, data, and internet access could soon reach communities in remote, rural, maritime, and aviation zones where terrestrial networks have never existed and likely never will.

What makes the technology notable is what it does not require. AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird low Earth orbit satellites are built to connect directly with ordinary smartphones, no special hardware, no extra app, no new device. If you already own a phone, the service is designed to work with it.

“Their technology is genuinely different: it works with the phones people already own, which means we can reach underserved communities without asking them to do anything differently,” said Hassan Jaber, CEO of AXIAN Telecom.

Under the agreement, AST SpaceMobile’s satellite network will be integrated into Yas core infrastructure across its markets. The two companies will jointly build out commercial offerings covering consumers, enterprises, the Internet of Things, maritime and aviation services, and emergency response operations. Yas will manage local distribution, regulatory coordination, and customer activation through a one-click SpaceMobile service.

Jaber was direct about the ambition behind the deal.

“Our ambition has always been to build a network that works for everyone in Africa, not just those in cities. Connectivity is the foundation on which everything else is built, and there are still too many people and businesses across our markets who are cut off from it,” he said. “Partnering with AST SpaceMobile gives us the ability to close that gap in a way that was not possible before.”

The partnership feeds into Yas’s broader Data4All strategy, which is focused on delivering quality network access to consumers and businesses in all its markets. It also addresses a critical gap in disaster and emergency response, keeping connectivity alive when ground-based infrastructure goes down.

Scott Wisniewski, president of AST SpaceMobile, framed the deal in similarly expansive terms.

“Africa is a critical part of the global connectivity landscape. Together with Yas, we are bringing space-based cellular broadband to people and communities beyond the reach of traditional infrastructure, directly to standard smartphones,” Wisniewski said. “This partnership advances our mission to connect the unconnected worldwide.”

The technical work ahead includes integrating the satellite network with Yas core systems, coordinating spectrum usage, and securing regulatory approvals market by market. The service is built to be compatible with evolving 5G and IoT standards.