Nigeria has approved new satellite broadband operators, granting seven-year operating permits to Amazon’s satellite unit, alongside companies from Israel and Germany.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) confirmed that it has issued commercial satellite permits to Amazon LEO (formerly Project Kuiper), Israel-based NSLComm, and Germany’s Satelio IoT Services. The approvals allow the companies to deploy non-geostationary, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite systems over Nigeria from 2026.
According to the NCC, the licences are part of the government’s effort to improve broadband coverage, particularly in underserved and remote areas where fibre and mobile networks remain limited.
“Opening the market to multiple satellite operators will accelerate broadband rollout and improve service availability nationwide,” the NCC said in a statement.
Amazon received a seven-year landing permit authorising its 3,236-satellite Ka-band constellation to operate in Nigeria from February 2026 to February 2033. The approval allows Amazon LEO to provide fixed satellite broadband, mobile satellite services, and connectivity for moving platforms, including ships and aircraft.
This places Amazon in direct competition with Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which currently dominates Nigeria’s LEO satellite broadband segment.
Industry data shows that by the second quarter of 2025, Starlink had 66,523 subscribers in Nigeria, making it the country’s second-largest internet service provider by subscriber numbers, despite its relatively high pricing.
Starlink launched in Nigeria in January 2023, following the grant of ISP and gateway licences by the NCC in 2022.
Starlink’s monthly subscription fee currently stands at about $38, up from around $25 in early 2024, after regulatory intervention by Nigerian authorities blocked a steeper price increase.
Despite wider coverage, the cost remains beyond the reach of many households.
In addition to Amazon, the NCC approved:
- NSLComm, which plans to deploy a 264-satellite BeetleSat-1 network.
- Satelio IoT Services, which has approval for a 491-satellite Internet-of-Things constellation, although only one satellite is currently in orbit.
These systems are designed to support not only consumer broadband but also industrial, logistics, and IoT applications.
Why Nigeria matters
Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million, remains one of Africa’s most strategic broadband markets. NCC data indicates that more than 23 million Nigerians live in unserved or underserved areas, while mobile broadband penetration stood at 50.58% as of November 2025.
LEO satellite systems are increasingly viewed as a solution to these gaps, offering lower latency than traditional geostationary satellites and supporting advanced digital services such as cloud computing, fintech, e-commerce, and remote work.
Amazon is expected to target enterprise customers in sectors including oil and gas, mining, ports, aviation, and logistics, where terrestrial network deployment is costly or impractical. Following its rebranding to Amazon LEO in November 2025, the company is also expected to integrate satellite connectivity with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Full commercial rollout of Amazon’s satellite broadband service in Nigeria is not expected before the second quarter of 2026, according to industry observers.
