Axian Telecom has announced a partnership with AST SpaceMobile to provide directto-device (D2D) satellite services across markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Axian Telecom, the parent company of pan-African telecom group, Yas, operates in the telecommunications services, ICT infrastructure and mobile money services across Africa and the Indian ocean, with large markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the partnership announced last week, AST SpaceMobile’s LEO satellite network will be integrated with Yas’ core infrastructure across its markets, enabling seamless connectivity for voice, video, data, and internet services.
Both companies will also jointly develop commercial offerings for consumers, enterprises, IoT, maritime, aviation, and emergency response, with Yas handling local distribution, regulatory coordination, and customer activation through a one-click SpaceMobile service. Yas currently operates in Tanzania, Madagascar, Togo, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Malawi, Réunion and Mayotte. Axian Telecom CEO, Hassan Jaber, said in a statement that the partnership would enable the company to connect more people and businesses outside of city centres where mobile coverage is typically concentrated.
“Partnering with AST SpaceMobile gives us the ability to close that gap in a way that was not possible before. “Their technology works with the phones people already own, which means we can reach underserved communities without asking them to do anything differently,” Jaber said.
The launch of commercial services will depend partly on securing the necessary regulatory clearances in each market, and also on AST SpaceMobile’s own commercial launch schedule. AST SpaceMobile currently has five BlueBird LEO satellites in orbit, and aims to deploy between 45 and 60 more satellites this year. The Axian partnership is AST SpaceMobile’s second major pan-African deal.
In December 2024, it signed a ten-year commercial agreement with Vodafone Group to roll out its services in Vodafone’s markets worldwide. In Africa, that includes Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa. AST Spacemobile has also signed partnership deals with Safaricom in Kenya and Uganda Telecom.
