Airtel Africa has launched satellite phone connectivity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub told TechCentral South Africa could get a competing service in late 2027.
Joosub named AST SpaceMobile as the probable partner in the interview. Vodacom’s interim results for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2026, do not identify a partner or give a launch date. Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile demonstrated a satellite video call using a standard phone in January 2025, but that demonstration did not establish a commercial timetable.
Airtel Africa’s August 2026 commercial launch in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lets compatible LTE Android devices send texts and use selected low-bandwidth apps, including WhatsApp. MTN Group said it completed a trial call with Lynk in South Africa in its update for the quarter ended March 31, 2025; it did not describe the test as a commercial service.
Vodacom’s Nov. 12, 2025, Starlink agreement covers satellite backhaul for mobile sites and sales of Starlink equipment and services to business customers. Joosub told TechCentral that the arrangement is separate from the proposed direct-to-phone service.
Vodacom’s interim results say Vodafone Egypt plans to co-invest with Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies. Vodafone Egypt has announced partnerships for a large data center and a separate sovereign artificial intelligence data center. Vodafone’s November 2026 investor presentation assigns a 30% equity stake to the data-center venture, with capacity planned to rise from 20 megawatts initially to 200 megawatts. The presentation gives no completion date. Joosub told TechCentral that South Africa and Kenya were also being considered as artificial intelligence data-center hubs, with planning at an early stage.
Vodacom reported net debt of 135.639 billion rand as of Sept. 30, 2026, up 78.837 billion rand from a year earlier, primarily because of the Safaricom transaction. Its net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio rose to 1.6 times from 0.9 times. Revenue for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2026, was 102.501 billion rand, up 25.6%, with Safaricom consolidation contributing to the increase.
