An excellent article recently published in Developing Telecoms examines the potentially transformative impact of lowering smartphone prices in Africa. According to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy Africa Report 2025, affordability remains a significant barrier, with approximately 58% of Africans still offline due to the high cost of smartphones. In response, the GSMA, in partnership with leading African operators MTN, Airtel, and Orange, has proposed introducing ultra-low-cost 4G smartphones priced between $30 and $40 to help bridge this digital divide.
If widely adopted, these devices could bring tens of millions online for the first time, dramatically increasing demand for data. However, such a rapid surge in usage poses major challenges for mobile networks that are already capacity constrained. Many of these new users are expected to be data-savvy, having been held back not by lack of interest but by affordability. Without corresponding investments in network capacity, this influx could overwhelm the infrastructure, leading to congestion and degraded user experience. On the other hand, many telecom operators remain cautious with their capital expenditures, which are typically limited. Ultra-rural areas, characterized by lower ARPU, continue to be challenging to finance and to justify from a CAPEX perspective.
Ethel Cofie, Founder and CEO of Edel Tech Consulting, underscores the urgency of this issue. While Africa continues to face infrastructure and coverage gaps, she cautions that few are adequately preparing for the scale of demand that 20 to 30 million new users would generate. “The networks will struggle,” she warns. “Initially, there will be capacity problems… issues with getting people capacity, and if not done well, that will degrade the experience.”
The role of LEO
Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite technology offers a complementary solution to terrestrial infrastructure, helping operators accelerate rollouts into underserved areas. LEO connectivity enables service provision in new regions even before fiber or tower infrastructure is deployed, allowing operators to begin generating revenue while planning long-term investments. Telesat’s model delivers satellite infrastructure at costs comparable to terrestrial networks, empowering local service providers to create affordable plans tailored to regional market dynamics. Satellite backhaul can extend the geographic reach of mobile and internet networks, favoring an OPEX model with flexible pricing and contention profiles suited to local conditions.
For instance, community Wi-Fi services can bring internet access to remote villages for as little as $1–2 per month. Telesat has operated under this collaborative framework for decades, working closely with regulators, ISPs, and national telcos to ensure our solutions enhance, rather than disrupt, local connectivity ecosystems.
Capacity Pool program
To help address the looming capacity challenge, a successful initiative from Canada’s far North could be extended to Africa. The Government of Canada has committed $600 million over 10 years to create a dedicated Telesat Lightspeed Capacity Pool to bridge the digital divide. This initiative allows mobile network operators (MNOs) and Internet service providers (ISPs) to deliver high-performance connectivity to unserved and underserved communities at significantly reduced rates. MNOs and ISPs have the assurance that the capacity pool will be subsidized for 10 years, allowing them to invest in last-mile solutions to each home and business while achieving a positive return on their investment.
Integration is streamlined, as Telesat Lightspeed adheres to Mplify’s MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet standards. This reduces integration overhead and simplifies capacity expansion for terrestrial operators. Additionally, this capacity is backed by guaranteed performance, committed information rates (CIRs), enterprise-grade availability, and stringent quality metrics for latency, jitter, and packet loss which offer a relevant technical and commercial framework for Telcos in order to define reliable and profitable service plans to their end users.
As Developing Telecoms points out, Africa remains the last continent to enter the digital age fully. Bridging this divide is not only a vast commercial opportunity, but also a humanitarian imperative. A recent World Bank study found that every 10-percentage-point increase in broadband penetration corresponds to a 1.38-percentage-point boost in GDP growth for developing countries. Greater broadband access unlocks critical services—such as healthcare and education—and paves the way for economic advancement.
Telesat is committed to collaborating with industry stakeholders, telecom operators, service providers, and governments to make this vision a reality. Our Capacity Pool program, which will help close the digital divide in Canada, holds the potential to do the same for communities across Africa and throughout the world.
