Key Highlight
- Vanu will integrate Kuiper backhaul services into its product and services portfolio and create opportunities to expand rural coverage.
At the Africa Tech Event 2025, held in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 11, 2025, Vanu, Inc., a provider of equipment, tools, and services that enable mobile network operators to serve rural communities profitably, announced a strategic agreement with Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network, Project Kuiper. The partnership aims to bring low-cost, high-quality mobile connectivity to rural and underserved communities in Africa, with an initial focus on Southern Africa.
Vanu’s mission is to help close the global digital divide by connecting the unconnected. The company’s innovative coverage solutions already provide mobile connectivity to millions of people in remote regions across multiple continents. By integrating Amazon’s advanced satellite network into its product and services portfolio, Vanu will be able to significantly expand its reach while working alongside a globally trusted brand.
Project Kuiper already has more than 150 satellites in space and is quickly expanding its satellite constellation. Vanu will deploy its Coverage as a Service, leveraging Amazon’s low-latency connectivity to provide mobile broadband to rural communities starting in 2026. Using backhaul connectivity to avoid the cost and complexity of expanding the reach of traditional telecom infrastructure, Vanu will drive digital inclusion for rural unconnected communities, unlocking high-speed communications for education, healthcare, commerce, and emergency response.
“We are energized by this opportunity to accelerate our mission,” said Andrew Beard, CEO of Vanu. “Amazon’s low Earth orbit constellation gives us the scale, reliability, and performance to reach areas that have been technologically excluded for far too long. Together, we can reshape what is possible for rural connectivity worldwide.”
“Project Kuiper was created to help connect customers and communities beyond the reach of existing networks, and our backhaul solutions are an important part of that vision,” said Chris Weber, Vice President of Consumer and Enterprise for Project Kuiper. “Vanu has a proven track record connecting some of the hardest-to-reach places on the planet. Using satellite-based connectivity from Amazon, they can enable mobile network operators to reach more subscribers in more places.”
Starting in Southern Africa, Vanu and Amazon aim to demonstrate that a sustainable, scalable model for rural coverage is not only achievable but also repeatable and ready to expand. By combining disruptive terrestrial technology with global satellite broadband capabilities, the agreement sets the stage for long-term global impact.
Africa Tech Event 2025 attendees can learn more about the new partnership by visiting Vanu at stand E82.
About Vanu, Inc.
Vanu provides equipment, tools and services that enable MNOs to profitably serve the 1.2 billion people who do not have connectivity today. Vanu’s solutions combine technology and business model innovations to reduce the total cost of ownership of wireless networks. The company grew out of groundbreaking research in software radio at MIT and was founded in 1998. Vanu is the developer of the Anywave™Base Station. Anywave was the first commercial Radio Access Network (RAN) product to simultaneously support multiple cellular radio standards on the same platform and the first U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-certified software-defined radio. Vanu is headquartered in Lexington, MA, with offices in Gurgaon, India, and in Kigali, Rwanda.