Satellite internet in South Africa has spent years sitting somewhere between a genuine connectivity solution and a topic that starts an argument in the comments section. That conversation changed on 15 July 2026, when Amazon Leo and Herotel announced plans to launch a new satellite broadband service called evry in 2027.

The service is intended to reach homes and small businesses beyond the practical reach of fibre and fixed wireless networks. For farms, rural offices, remote sites and smaller towns, that could be a meaningful development.

It does not, however, mean every company should cancel its fibre order and point a dish at the sky.

What is Amazon Leo and evry?

Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network, previously known as Project Kuiper. Unlike older satellite services that relied on satellites positioned much farther from Earth, low Earth orbit networks are designed to provide faster response times and a more usable broadband experience.

Herotel will distribute the service locally under the evry brand. Its current information indicates that the service is targeting a 2027 launch in South Africa, although exact dates and pricing have not yet been confirmed.

Two antenna options are currently being promoted. The smaller Nano unit is listed at up to 100 Mbps, while the Pro unit is listed at up to 300 Mbps. Those figures are promising, but “up to” remains one of the hardest-working phrases in the internet industry. Actual performance will depend on the final service, installation, location, network demand and other conditions.

Where satellite internet in South Africa could make sense

The most obvious use case is a business operating somewhere that fibre providers have no financial reason to reach.

A farm office, lodge, mine, construction site, warehouse or rural branch may need cloud systems, Microsoft 365, online accounting and video meetings. The problem is getting a reliable connection to the property.

Traditional infrastructure can require trenches, poles, towers or long-distance wireless links. Satellite internet changes that equation because the connection does not depend on a cable reaching the premises.

It could also help businesses that open temporary locations. A construction project may need connectivity for months rather than years. A mobile clinic, event site or field office may need access quickly without waiting for permanent infrastructure.

Another useful role could be backup connectivity. Businesses that depend heavily on internet access may already have a secondary fibre, LTE or fixed wireless service. Satellite could provide another path that is less likely to fail for exactly the same reason as the primary connection.

That last point matters. Two fibre services are not true redundancy if both travel through the same trench and meet the same enthusiastic person with a spade.

Why fibre is not suddenly obsolete

For businesses in well-served urban areas, fibre will probably remain the sensible primary connection.

A properly installed business fibre service can provide consistent performance, predictable latency, local support options and service-level commitments. It also does not require a clear view of the sky or rooftop equipment.

Satellite capacity is shared, and performance may vary as more customers use the network. Weather, physical obstructions, equipment placement and the provider’s network design may also affect the experience. These are practical considerations.

Pricing will matter too. Until installation costs, hardware fees, monthly packages, data policies and business support options are confirmed, no company can make a meaningful cost comparison.

The announcement is important, but it is still an announcement. A waiting list is not an internet connection.

Your internal network still matters

A new internet service cannot repair a badly designed office network.

A business could install a fast satellite connection and still experience slow Wi-Fi, dead zones, overloaded switches, poor cabling or devices fighting for bandwidth. The internet link is only one part of the journey between an employee’s laptop and the cloud service they are trying to reach.

The same applies to guest Wi-Fi. Giving visitors unrestricted access to the same network used by staff and business systems remains a bad idea, regardless of whether the connection arrives by fibre, LTE, fixed wireless or satellite.

Before changing providers, businesses should understand where the real bottleneck sits. Replacing the internet connection without checking the firewall, switches, wireless access points and cabling can become an expensive way to discover that the connection was never the problem.

What businesses should do now

There is no need to rush into a purchasing decision. There is not yet a commercial service to purchase.

Businesses in poorly connected areas can register interest and follow the rollout, but they should use the time to document their current requirements. That includes the number of users, required applications, monthly data usage, acceptable downtime and whether the service would be primary or backup connectivity.

It is also worth reviewing the wider continuity plan. Which systems stop working when the internet fails? Can staff switch to another connection? Does the firewall support automatic failover? Are cloud phones, card machines, security systems and remote access included in the plan?

Satellite internet could become a valuable addition to the South African connectivity market. Its greatest value is unlikely to be replacing every fibre line in Sandton. It will be giving businesses in difficult locations another realistic option and allowing some companies to build stronger connectivity redundancy.

The technology is worth watching. The correct business decision will still depend on the site, the workload, the support available and the network behind it.

UIT can help assess your current connectivity, internal network and backup options before you commit to a new service. Contact Us to start the conversation.