NIGCOMSAT-2A, 2B: $2bn satellites may trigger broadcast, broadband boom in 2028
By Prince Osuagwu, Hi-Tech Editor
If the timeline set by the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, NIGCOMSAT, for the deployment of its two new communications satellites remains on course, Nigeria’s broadcast and broadband sectors could be heading for a major capacity boom by 2028.
That prospect received a major boost at the weekend after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved the acquisition and deployment of NIGCOMSAT-2A and NIGCOMSAT-2B, a next-generation satellite programme estimated at about $2 billion.
The significance of the FEC approval goes beyond giving the project a government stamp of approval. As the Federal Government’s highest executive decision-making body, the Council’s approval provides the political and administrative authority needed to move a project of this financial and strategic magnitude from planning and procurement into implementation. It gives the relevant ministries and NIGCOMSAT a firm government mandate to proceed with contract finalisation, financing arrangements, technical planning and engagement with the selected technology partners.
In effect, the approval removes one of the biggest uncertainties surrounding a project that has been in the works for years and provides the foundation for the government to mobilise the resources and institutional machinery required to deliver it.
NIGCOMSAT Managing Director/CEO, Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, had earlier disclosed that NIGCOMSAT-2A is targeted for launch in 2028, while 2B is scheduled for 2029. The company has now moved into the next implementation phase, with Thales Alenia Space of France and Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, named as the technology partners.
And, what makes 2A particularly significant is what it is designed to carry. NIGCOMSAT’s procurement specification describes the new satellites as High-Throughput Satellites, HTS, intended to deliver high-speed data, voice and video services for fixed satellite communications, using multiple frequency bands including L-band, C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band. That combination is designed to support broadband, internet, broadcasting and other high-capacity communications applications.
For broadcasters, this could mean more satellite capacity and wider coverage for television and other broadcast services. For the communications industry, it could mean additional high-capacity links for broadband providers, enterprises, government services and communities where fibre and other terrestrial infrastructure remain difficult or expensive to deploy.
The timing is also crucial.
Nigeria’s existing communications satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1R, launched in December 2011, was designed with a 15-year life and carries 28 transponders across Ka-, Ku-, C- and L-bands. It was itself a replacement for NIGCOMSAT-1, which failed in orbit in November 2008 following a solar-array anomaly.
NIGCOMSAT-1R has nevertheless proved to be a valuable national asset. Its 28 transponders include 14 Ku-band, four C-band and eight Ka-band transponders, with the Ka-band capacity supporting broadcasting and trunking.
However there has been a frustrating paradox here. Nigeria has had substantial satellite capacity while only a fraction of it was being commercially exploited. Industry reports in 2025 put NIGCOMSAT’s satellite broadband capacity utilisation at just about seven per cent, leaving roughly 93 per cent idle despite growing broadband demand.
That commercial under-utilisation has become one of the challenges the current NIGCOMSAT management is trying to reverse. Egerton-Idehen has set an ambitious target of generating ₦8 billion in revenue within three years, after revenue rose from about ₦650 million in 2023 to more than ₦2 billion in 2025.
She described the latest FEC approval as a major milestone for the company and the country.
She said: “This is a significant milestone for NIGCOMSAT and for Nigeria, and we commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the leadership and support that have enabled us to reach this stage.
“NIGCOMSAT-2A and NIGCOMSAT-2B will strengthen our national satellite capacity, expand connectivity and support critical communications across the country. Our priority is to translate this investment into measurable value for Nigerians and position NIGCOMSAT for stronger impact within the global satellite and digital economy.”
The new satellites could therefore arrive at a critical moment: not merely replacing an ageing national asset, but providing the capacity NIGCOMSAT needs to turn its ambitious commercial projections into reality.
If 2A takes its scheduled place in orbit in 2028 and 2B follows in 2029, Nigeria may finally have the satellite infrastructure to match its rapidly expanding appetite for broadband, broadcasting and digital services.
The post NIGCOMSAT-2A, 2B: $2bn satellites may trigger broadcast, broadband boom in 2028 appeared first on Vanguard News.