Airtel Tests Satellite Internet on Moving Train Across Sub-Saharan Africa

Airtel Africa has pulled off something that used to sound impossible, a working internet connection on a moving train, powered entirely by satellites. The company tested the setup over a 669-kilometre route that cut through remote terrain with no fibre lines or cell coverage, and the signal held strong the whole way.

The First of Its Kind

The pilot was run under Airtel Satellite for Business in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, which operates a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network. During the trial, Airtel recorded download speeds of around 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps, which is impressive considering the train was constantly moving through areas most networks can’t reach.

This marks the first time a satellite broadband test has been successfully carried out on a moving train in Sub-Saharan Africa. It’s a proof-of-concept for what LEO satellites can do in places where building physical infrastructure is either too expensive or impossible.

Beyond Passenger Wi-Fi

For most Africans, train rides mean losing internet connection a few minutes after leaving the city. Routes like Abuja–Kaduna or Nairobi–Mombasa still have long dead zones where passengers can’t even load a webpage.

If Airtel turns this pilot into a real product, that could change. Passengers could stream, work, or video call without constant dropouts. But beyond convenience, the bigger impact would be for rail operators,  real-time data on train movement, safety systems, and logistics could all run through stable satellite links.

How They Pulled It Off

LEO satellites orbit much closer to the Earth, about 1,200 km up, unlike traditional ones that sit tens of thousands of kilometres away. That short distance gives faster speeds and lower latency. But keeping a stable link with a train moving at full speed isn’t simple.

The on-board antenna has to keep tracking the satellites and switch smoothly from one to another as both move across the sky. Even a brief loss of alignment can cause a connection drop. The fact that Airtel’s test maintained consistent speeds suggests that the beam-switching tech from OneWeb and Airtel’s network integration worked as planned.

Competing with Starlink and Kuiper

If this system proves reliable, it won’t stop at trains. The same setup could bring high-speed satellite internet to buses, trucks, and rural industrial sites that sit far from existing towers or fibre routes. It also puts Airtel in a strong position within the growing satellite broadband race, where Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper, and Eutelsat OneWeb are all fighting for global coverage.

Unlike Starlink’s direct-to-consumer model, Airtel seems to be aiming for enterprise and mobility solutions, which could give it a niche advantage across Africa.

Pricing the On-Train Internet

The technology works, but scaling it won’t be cheap. Trains would need custom antennas built into their roofs, and regulatory approvals across borders could drag on for years. Then there’s the question of cost, satellite capacity and hardware remain pricey, which could limit how fast the service can roll out.

For now, Airtel hasn’t shared how it plans to commercialize the project or what a full rollout would look like. But this pilot shows intent. And if the economics can line up with the technology, Africa might soon see trains that stay connected from start to finish.