Satellite phones finally reach rural African towns: Here's why it matters
For the first time, people in remote African communities may soon get reliable phone and data service via satellite links, bypassing the need for cell towers. Below we explore why this milestone matters, from mobile gaming and healthcare to messaging, and how satellite connectivity is changing the game for rural Africa.
Mobile Games Without Connectivity—How the Markets Adapt
We need to welcome initiatives that aim to develop new infrastructure so that the internet becomes available to everyone, regardless of where they live. As today's life has become vastly digitized, keeping people connected to the global web is a necessary task.
With that being said, digital markets have taken meaningful steps to ease dependence on high-speed internet in order to expand their customer base. The gaming industry is pioneering in this effort, not only in Africa but globally.
Some advanced platforms and their offerings, such as Ignition casino's mobile poker, have designed games with lightweight graphics so players don't feel the need for high-speed internet. Some of these gaming platforms even offer two different versions of their games: the full version and a light version with only the primary features. Recently, however, a new trend has emerged: offline-capable mobile poker apps.
Game developers are releasing other versions of popular poker games that can be downloaded once and played without continuous internet access. In fact, several free poker apps now let users play full tournaments against AI opponents entirely offline. These apps, often intended for practice or casual play, store game data locally and don't involve real-money bets, meaning rural players can enjoy poker anytime without needing 4G or even 3G. It's a clever workaround for low-connectivity areas.
These changes help prove the fact that when markets and industries adapt to current circumstances, satellite connectivity may arrive late, but ensuring everyone has reliable internet access is simply a necessity.
Telemedicine's new lifeline
One clear example is telemedicine. In places like Zimbabwe, new satellite internet services have begun to connect rural patients with urban doctors in real time. When Elon Musk's Starlink constellation went live in Zimbabwe in 2024, local innovators jumped to use it for healthcare.
With a satellite link, a patient in a village can have a video call with a specialist in the capital – seeing and hearing each other nearly as clearly as if they were in the same room. Doctors can spot symptoms over video that would be missed in a crackly phone call, improving diagnostic accuracy. As a chief executive noted, his team's doctors conduct video exams with 'near in-person clarity, seeing fine visual details essential for accurate diagnoses'. For a rural patient, that quality of consultation was unheard of before satellite internet arrived.
Telegram's African growth gets boosted by Satellite Connectivity
When it comes to person-to-person connectivity, few tools are as important as messaging apps. In Africa, one messaging service in particular – Telegram – has been seeing a surge in popularity, especially in communities seeking reliable, low-cost communication and entertainment through Telegram. The platform is known for its light data footprint and offline-friendly design, making it well-suited to areas with intermittent connectivity. Now, with satellites extending the internet into rural towns, Telegram's reach in Africa is poised to grow even further, riding on these new cosmic networks.
One major advantage Telegram has in low-connectivity settings is its efficiency with data. Text messages on Telegram are cloud-synced but consume very little bandwidth. Crucially, Telegram doesn't require all parties to be online simultaneously; messages sit on the cloud. So if a villager only gets online during a brief satellite pass, their Telegram app will automatically sync all the new messages and community updates, which they can read offline until the next pass. This store-and-forward model fits perfectly with intermittent satellite internet availability.
The result is that satellite connectivity could turbocharge Telegram's growth in Africa's hinterlands as the continent becomes globally attractive. We're already seeing early signs: community leaders are creating local Telegram groups for villages that recently got connected via satellite ISP terminals or direct-to-phone satellite service. Teachers share homework via Telegram channels that students download when the signal permits. Farmers join market-price discussion groups and download the messages whenever their rugged satellite phone catches a signal.
Unlike traditional SMS, which may not work at all without cell coverage, Telegram over satellite can deliver a rich stream of content – photos, voice notes, PDFs – as soon as a link is available, no matter how remote the recipient. It's no wonder experts predict messaging apps will be among the biggest winners of expanded rural connectivity.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'He's Alienated The Wrong People' — Scott Galloway Blames Musk's Politics For Tesla's Fall From 8th To 95th In U.S. Brand Rankings
"He's alienated the wrong people," marketing professor Scott Galloway said recently, blaming Elon Musk for Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) brand slide. Galloway argued on the "Pivot" podcast that politics, not products, now steer the automaker after a string of rough quarters and mounting protests. Tesla ranked No. 95 in the latest Axios Harris Poll 100, down from No. 8 in 2021, Axios said. The brand stood at No. 42 in 2019 and No. 63 last year, underscoring a steady drift before the latest plunge. Sister companies SpaceX and X also landed at No. 86 and No. 98 respectively — a sign that the reputational chill is hitting all corners of his empire. Don't Miss: Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — GoSun's Breakthrough Rooftop EV Charger Already Has 2,000+ Units Reserved — Financials mirror the fall. In its Q1 earnings report in April, Tesla said net income slumped 71%, automotive revenue slid 20%, and free cash flow turned positive, reaching $664 million. "Tesla was a great brand," Galloway said. He called the downturn, "one of the greatest brand destruction." He added, "the rivers have reversed, and the tide has turned entirely against them," referring to Musk's political alignment and its impact on Tesla's reputation. Musk steered almost $300 million to President Donald Trump–aligned committees while advising the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, angering early EV adopters who skew liberal. "3/4 of Republicans would never consider buying an EV," Galloway said. "He's cozied up to the people who aren't interested in EVs." Pushback soon spilled onto the streets. A March fire at a Tesla showroom in Rome destroyed 17 cars. Activists organized "Tesla Takedown" rallies in Berlin, Stockholm and San Francisco in April. Tesla's global sustainability lead canceled a Rome conference appearance over security concerns as vandalism cases multiplied. Trending: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Musk said in May he was returning full time to his companies, posting on X, "Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms." He said his round-the-clock shift would center on X, xAI, Tesla and a May 27 Starship launch. During last month's Qatar Economic Forum, Musk said he would "do a lot less" political spending because "I think I've done enough." He added that he planned to stay Tesla's CEO for at least five years. Investor confidence in Tesla has increasingly hinged on the recent launch of its robotaxi pilot—launched last month in Austin, Texas—and consistent Model Y deliveries. Both developments will be critical indicators for investors. Read Next: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'He's Alienated The Wrong People' — Scott Galloway Blames Musk's Politics For Tesla's Fall From 8th To 95th In U.S. Brand Rankings originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Is Tesla screwed?
Elon Musk's anger over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was evident this week as the world's richest man took to X, the social media platform he owns, to lambast President Donald Trump's signature legislation. But there's plenty of anger from investors at the performance of his own electric vehicle company, Tesla, which again posted weak delivery results for its electric vehicles. The company delivered just over 384,000 vehicles in the second quarter, only marginally better than the previous three months, which were the company's worst in more than two years. Overall, the number of cars Tesla delivered in April, May, and June this year was down 13% from the year before. It caps a difficult time for Musk, whose personal and business brands have taken a tumble. The proportion of people who dislike the EV company has more than doubled in the last two years, according to data from YouGov, which tracks public sentiment about the firm. In all, 35.2% of Americans have a negative view of Tesla, up from just 16.5% two years earlier, and nearly as many as those who now hold a positive view of the company. That correlates with Musk's personal popularity in the same YouGov surveys, with people moving from being on the fence about him to reporting actively disliking him. And his continued engagement in U.S. politics is only turning people against him more, analysts believe. 'Elon Musk's frustration boiled over with the latest Senate budget deficit, reneging on his promise to focus more on his businesses,' write Jed Dorsheimer and Mark Shooter, analysts at William Blair. 'We only see downside from these actions, and would prefer effort to be channeled towards the robotaxi rollout at this critical juncture.' (Tesla did not immediately respond to Fast Company 's request for comment.) That said, there are green shoots ahead. The number of deliveries this last quarter wasn't quite as bad as William Blair analysts feared. In fact, it beat their estimate by 8%. 'We expect the stock to react positively as investors feared worse,' Dorsheimer and Shooter said. The issue Tesla faces isn't with brand perception among its own customers, but with trying to attract new ones, suggest analysts at Forrester. 'Tesla is a compelling case study in the divergence between customer experience and brand perception,' explains Keith Johnston, group research director at Forrester. 'While Tesla remains top-of-mind for many noncustomers, boasting above-average salience, they are less likely to perceive it as trustworthy, and even less inclined to buy it.' It's a major issue, agrees Jay Nagley, a consultant at Redspy Automotive Consultancy. 'You can still disapprove of a company and buy its products, because nobody else knows you're doing it,' he says. 'You might publicly disapprove of McDonald's and go and have a crafty burger from time to time, but you can't do that with Tesla. It's sitting in your driveway. You get out of it. Your friends see you in it all the time. So it's a constant source of potential awkwardness and embarrassment.' This comes on top of Tesla facing significant challenges in China, which has traditionally been one of its biggest markets. In the first half of 2025, China accounted for nearly half of Tesla's global deliveries, with Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory alone producing almost 50% of all Tesla vehicles delivered worldwide. The problem is Tesla faces growing competition from Chinese automakers like BYD, which reported one million EV sales in the first half of 2025 compared to Tesla's 721,000. BYD's vehicles, often cheaper and equipped with advanced features like a five-minute charging system, are eroding Tesla's market share, particularly in China. 'While the company has seen significant weakness in China in previous quarters given the rising competitive landscape across EVs, Tesla saw a rebound in June with sales increasing for the first time in eight months reflecting higher demand for its updated Model Y as deliveries in the region are starting to slowly turn a corner,' says Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities. Ives remains bullish on Tesla and Musk's ability to turn the ship around. 'If Musk continues to lead and remain in the driver's seat, we believe Tesla is on a path to an accelerated growth path over the coming years with deliveries expected to ramp in the back-half of 2025 following the Model Y refresh cycle,' he says. The company plans to release a lower-cost Model Y in the second half of the year. That would be important because Tesla has traditionally been slow at updating its models, something Nagley attributes to Musk's naiveté about how the auto industry operates. But even if the Model Y succeeds, there's a Trump-shaped obstacle in the way to Tesla's success going forward. The U.S. president is eliminating the EV tax credit that helped bolster Tesla's sales, which tilts the scales back in favor of gas-powered cars, which are cheaper than electric alternatives. And tariffs from China on battery materials will push Tesla costs up further. 'While Musk's departure from DOGE brought back Tesla's most important asset,' Ives says, 'the feud between Musk and Trump brings further frustration to investors with more fear around the Trump administration becoming more hawkish around government-related spending tied to Tesla, especially the autonomous future with AV regulations key for Robotaxis and Cybercabs.' The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
GOP lawmakers rebuke Elon Musk's primary threats, say Trump's legislation 'something we've got to do'
As lawmakers march toward a vote on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," House Republicans aren't too worried about primary threats from tech billionaire Elon Musk. Musk, who once served as the head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been highly critical of the president's legislative agenda. He had remained quiet about the bill until earlier this week when Senate Republicans were making strides to pass it. "We don't take threats lightly up here," Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. "And, you know, Elon, we appreciate all the work he did with DOGE — and he did some fine work, some great work — but at the same time, this is something we've got to do." Musk again returned to bemoan Republicans for supporting the legislative behemoth for its staggering $3.3 trillion price tag and the impact it would have on the nation's already massive, $37 trillion debt. He went so far as to threaten to back primary challengers against any Republican that voted for the bill. It wouldn't be the first time that Musk has been involved — he dumped millions into Trump's campaign last year. Now, House Republicans are gearing up to vote after hours of delays, negotiations and a near record-breaking amount of open floor time in the lower chamber. Additionally, many don't care about Musk's threats. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mi., told Fox News Digital that he was focused on doing the best "we could do, which is, frankly, better than what Elon Musk did." "I don't worry about Elon Musk," he said. "I do know that DOGE found some good things that we needed to remedy in this government. But the $2 trillion that Elon said he was going to find, he didn't." Musk took particular issue with the Senate's changes to the bill, too, and slammed it for adding trillions to the deficit. Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., noted that the bill cuts north of $1.5 trillion in an effort to help offset the cost of extending or making permanent Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. "I appreciate Mr. Musk's motivation," he told Fox News Digital. "I appreciate his focus on debt reduction, and I hope he'll take a step back and realize that we're still all on the same team here." While the Senate's changes, particularly to Medicaid and a reduction in the rollback of green energy subsidies from former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, among other cost-driving issues, gave fiscal hawks in the House heartburn, House Republican leadership is confident that the bill will pass.
