UAE satellite communications provider Yahsat has officially launched its YahClick Internet satellite broadband service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company announced.
The YahClick service will help bridge the Digital Divide in the impoverished African country of 84 million inhabitants where Internet penetration rate stands at only 6.1% as of December 2017, according to Internet World Stats. Yahsat will provide the YahClick service by using the Ka-band frequencies on its satellites to provide the Congolese population with high speed Internet connectivity, even in remote areas of the country where the networks of local telecom operators are unavailable.
“Reliable and high-performance Internet connectivity is a catalyst for social and economic progress around the world. With low internet penetration and a history of connectivity disruptions, the DRC is demonstrating a clear need for YahClick’s reliable, high-speed service,” said Farhad Khan, Yahshat’s Chief Commercial Officer.
To offer its YahClick Internet satellite broadband services in this new market, Yahsat has partnered with Congolese Internet service providers Castor Networks DRC and XIT SARL. Through this partnership, the two companies hope to contribute to the democratization of broadband in the country and the digital transformation of the DRC as a whole, and take advantage of the benefits that will hopefully result.
The launch of YahClick in the DRC comes after the launch of the same service in Ghana, on 4 September 2018. Yahsat’s penetration in these new African markets is made possible thanks to the Al Yah-3 satellite launched into orbit by Arianespace on 25 January 2018. The Al Yah-3 satellite has expanded the telecom capabilities of the Emirati company into the African and Brazilian markets.