Amazon Leo has signed its first African satellite broadband partnership, teaming up with South African internet service provider Herotel to launch evry, powered by Amazon Leo, a satellite internet service expected to become commercially available in 2027.
The partnership aims to expand reliable broadband access to underserved communities across South Africa, particularly in rural areas, farming regions and small towns where traditional fibre and fixed wireless infrastructure remains difficult and expensive to deploy.
Under the agreement, Herotel will integrate Amazon Leo’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology into its new evry service. Operating at approximately 590 kilometres above Earth, Amazon Leo’s satellites deliver lower latency than traditional geostationary satellites, enabling smoother video conferencing, online learning, streaming and remote work. Customers will connect using compact satellite antennas without requiring fibre infrastructure.
Herotel’s nationwide footprint of more than 350,000 active customers across over 550 towns, supported by 120 local offices, will provide installation, customer support and field services when the offering launches.
The partnership also strengthens Amazon’s long-term connectivity ambitions across Africa. Alongside the Herotel agreement, Amazon noted that Vanu is collaborating with Amazon Leo to expand cellular connectivity to underserved rural communities across the continent, beginning in South Africa.
According to Amazon, expanding non-geostationary satellite connectivity could generate up to US$16.9 billion in annual economic benefits across southern Africa while helping bridge the digital divide for millions of people who remain outside traditional broadband and mobile network coverage.
