Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and Galaxy Space, Chinese LEO satellite company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deploy direct‑to‑device (D2D) satellite services in the country by the end of this year.
Based on the terms of the deal, Galaxy Space will integrate its LEO satellite constellation into Nigeria’s telecommunications grid and enable smartphones and laptops to link directly to the satellites.
In addition, the MoU covers technology‑transfer programmes, joint Research and Development (R&D) labs as well as co‑production of a CubeSat by Nigerian engineers.
Commenting on the partnership, Director-General of NASRDA, Dr. Matthew Adepoju, explained that apart from the benefit of enabling mobile coverage outside of terrestrial network range, the deal with GalaxySpace would boost the current drive by the government to transform the domestic space technology sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the industry expert as saying that “it is no longer acceptable that we must import every single device we need. The time has come for us to produce our own technologies here at home.”
GalaxySpace, which designs and manufactures its own LEO satellites, currently has a test constellation of seven LEO satellites in orbit, and has said its “Mini-Spider” constellation will eventually comprise up to 1,000 satellites.
The company has also signed multi-tier partnerships in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
It would be recalled that in 2024 the company signed a deal with Hong Kong carrier PCCW Global to integrate its LEOsat connectivity with PCCW’s worldwide network, thereby giving it access to over 3,000 cities across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
