Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES has expanded its service to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and adding some 5.8 million users via 1,100 base stations, and in the process increasing its population coverage by 27 percent. SES is working with Africa Mobile Network (AMN) locally.

“There is a clear demand for connectivity across the region, a direct result of the mission to bring rural DRC online. For AMN and SES, that’s not just a percentage, it represents millions of people accessing mobile network services for the very first time,” said SES.

Through this collaboration, AMN successfully installed an additional 292 new mobile network base stations across the country using capacity provided by SES, providing critical telecommunication services to more than 5.8 million people.

The sites were deployed in just 90 days. But the numbers only tell half the story.

“Building nearly 300 sites in just three months, under some of the toughest conditions imaginable, is an extraordinary achievement,” said Michael Darcy, CEO of Africa Mobile Network. “This is what happens when determination meets purpose. This is exactly why AMN exists: to connect even the most remote communities sustainably, reliably, and at scale.”

At the heart of AMN’s mission is a simple belief: connectivity is a fundamental human right. “The real story is about teams navigating impassable roads and hand carrying equipment for miles through the bush when the trucks could not travel any further. It was exhausting, challenging work, but they persevered and successfully provided critical mobile network services to an additional 1.3 million people across rural DRC,” said SES.

AMN asserts that it can bring mobile connectivity to any community of more than 1,000 residents anywhere in the world. The partnership between AMN and SES plays a central role in this initiative. Because sites are entirely solar-powered and utilise VSAT backhaul, they are truly ubiquitous and capable of being deployed in places where the map ends, without relying on power grids or existing network infrastructure.

However, this independence introduces a distinct logistical challenge. Installation teams often travel where no one else can go. Delivering connectivity in areas with no fibre, no power and no existing mobile network coverage; AMN’s engineers are the first to carve a path into the regions that have been disconnected and navigate the very isolation they are working to end.

“Innovation is at the heart of how AMN reaches the unconnected. AMN has developed the ‘AMN Radio Node’ (ARN), a multi-technology solution that enables multiple carriers to operate simultaneously from a single unit, supporting mixed 2G, 3G, 4G and future 5G technologies without additional capital expenditure or power consumption. By designing and building AMN’s own ARN in-house, AMN has found a way to deliver high-performance, energy efficient connectivity whilst simultaneously reducing the investment required to do so,” explained SES.

“Connecting to SES’ multi-orbit satellite network offers a multi-orbit constellation (GEO, MEO AND LEO) providing data connectivity services to over 1 billion people worldwide. This includes some of the most remote, unreachable parts of the globe. It is encouraging and inspiring to see how digital transformation profoundly reshaped daily life across the DRC has,” commented Jean-Philippe Gillet, President of Fixed Data at SES.

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Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: congo, LEO, meo, SES