Nigeria grants satellite permits to BeetleSat, Satelio and Amazon's Kuiper

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria has issued seven-year satellite permits to Amazon's AMZN.O Kuiper Systems, Israel's NSLComm's BeetleSat and Germany-based Satelio IoT Services, joining Elon Musk-owned SpaceX among operators cleared to expand space-based broadband, the telecoms regulator said on Thursday.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it issued the permits under its commercial satellite communications guidelines, a licensing framework designed to draw investment into the sector.

The decision advances the regulator's drive to open Nigeria, Africa's largest telecoms market, to next-generation non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) systems, the NCC posted on its website.

Amazon's Kuiper Systems won a seven-year licence to beam Ka-band services over Nigeria via its 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper from February 2026 to February 2033. NSLComm gained similar clearance for its 264-satellite BeetleSat-1 network, while Satelio IoT was approved for its planned 491-satellite IoT system, though only one satellite is currently in orbit.

The NCC said the permits support its push to fast-track expansion of satellite broadband services and bring Nigeria in line with global best practices.