Two Agreements That Reshape Algeria’s Space Ambitions
In December 2025, during African Telecommunications Day at the Abdelatif-Rahal International Conference Center in Algiers, two agreements between Chinese satellite company GeeSpace and Algerian institutions quietly set the stage for one of Africa’s most ambitious satellite IoT programs. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Post and Telecommunications Sid Ali Zerrouki and Chinese Ambassador to Algeria Dong Guangli.
The first agreement, signed by Toufik Hentabli, Director General of Algerie Telecom Satellite (ATS), and Wang Yang, CEO of GeeSpace, establishes a framework for co-developing commercial and operational terms for a satellite IoT investment and deployment project. ATS, a subsidiary of the state-owned Algerie Telecom group founded in 2006, operates Algeria’s VSAT network and manages satellite bandwidth procurement across regional branches in Oran, Ouargla, Bechar, Constantine, Setif, Annaba, and Tamanrasset.
The second agreement, signed by Azzedine Oussedik, Director General of the Algeria Space Agency (ASAL), targets cooperation in LEO satellite manufacturing. This agreement is arguably more strategically significant: it opens a pathway toward establishing satellite manufacturing capacity within Algeria, a capability no African country has fully achieved for LEO IoT satellites.
Together, these agreements position Algeria at the intersection of two powerful trends: the global explosion of LEO satellite constellations and Africa’s urgent need for connectivity infrastructure that terrestrial networks cannot provide.
GeeSpace: Geely’s $281 Million Satellite Play
GeeSpace is a subsidiary of Geely Holding Group, the Chinese automotive and technology conglomerate that owns Volvo Cars, Lotus, and Polestar. Founded in 2018, GeeSpace operates GEESATCOM, a LEO satellite constellation that completed its Phase I deployment in September 2025 with 64 satellites across six orbital planes.
The constellation’s performance is already proven: commercial testing shows a 99.15% success rate with network availability exceeding 99.97%, supporting 340 million communications per day within the 60-degree north-south latitude range. GeeSpace secured $281 million in funding from the Zhejiang New Energy Vehicle Industry Fund for constellation expansion and a new global headquarters.
The full constellation roadmap extends well beyond IoT: 72 satellites for Phase 1 IoT communications, 264 satellites for direct-to-smartphone connectivity, and eventually over 5,600 satellites for global broadband. GeeSpace has already established partnerships with telecommunications operators across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
For Algeria, partnering with GeeSpace offers advantages beyond satellite technology. Geely’s automotive manufacturing expertise translates into production engineering capabilities relevant to satellite manufacturing. The company’s interest in connected vehicles also creates a natural anchor customer segment for satellite IoT services.
Why LEO Satellite IoT Matters for Algeria
Algeria is the largest country in Africa by land area, spanning 2.38 million square kilometers. More than 80% of this territory is Saharan desert with sparse population and virtually no terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure. For conventional cellular networks, the economics of covering the Sahara are prohibitive.
Satellite IoT changes this equation. Unlike consumer satellite internet services like Starlink, satellite IoT provides low-bandwidth, low-power connections to millions of devices: sensors in agricultural fields, tracking devices on shipping containers, monitoring equipment on oil pipelines, and environmental sensors in remote areas. A constellation of LEO satellites can provide coverage across Algeria’s entire territory without requiring ground infrastructure beyond small, solar-powered IoT devices.
Energy and hydrocarbons remain Algeria’s economic backbone, with oil and gas operations spread across the Saharan south involving thousands of kilometers of pipelines and hundreds of wellheads in remote locations. Satellite IoT could enable real-time monitoring of pipeline pressure, flow rates, and corrosion sensors across the entire hydrocarbon infrastructure, reducing reliance on expensive VSAT terminals and periodic manual inspections.
Agriculture is another critical application. Algeria is investing heavily in agricultural self-sufficiency, with particular emphasis on desert agriculture using groundwater irrigation in zones typically beyond cellular network reach. Satellite IoT sensors could monitor soil moisture, temperature, and crop health, enabling precision agriculture where it was previously impossible.
Transportation and logistics across some of the world’s longest desert highways would benefit from real-time vehicle tracking, while environmental monitoring of desertification patterns, groundwater levels, and sandstorm activity across the Sahara becomes feasible only with satellite-based sensor networks.
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Algeria’s Space Track Record: 24 Years of Building Capability
The GeeSpace agreements build on over two decades of space investment. ASAL was established in January 2002, and Algeria has since launched multiple satellites:
- Alsat-1 (2002): Algeria’s first satellite, a microsatellite for Earth observation built with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in the UK
- Alsat-2A (2010) and Alsat-2B (2016): Higher-resolution Earth observation satellites developed with Airbus Defence and Space. Notably, Alsat-2B was integrated by ASAL engineers at Algeria’s Satellite Development Centre (UDPS) in Oran
- Alsat-1B and Alsat-1N (2016): A pair of satellites continuing the Earth observation program
- Alcomsat-1 (2017): Algeria’s first geostationary telecommunications satellite, built by CAST and launched on a Long March 3B rocket, with 33 transponders (19 Ku-band, 12 Ka-band, 2 L-band)
- Alsat-3A (January 15, 2026) and Alsat-3B (January 30, 2026): Next-generation Earth observation satellites launched from Jiuquan in China, delivering improved resolution imagery
The January 2026 double launch is particularly significant: two satellites in two weeks demonstrates an accelerating cadence. However, Algeria has not yet achieved domestic satellite manufacturing capacity. The GeeSpace agreement with ASAL represents a deliberate effort to close this gap through technology transfer from a partner with established production capabilities.
The African Dimension: From Customer to Continental Hub
The cooperation agreements explicitly envision a phased initiative that may expand to other African countries. GeeSpace is simultaneously building partnerships across North Africa, having signed a separate MoU with Morocco’s Soremar Group for GEESATCOM deployment in the broader region.
Africa’s connectivity challenge remains severe. According to the GSMA Mobile Economy Africa 2025 report, nearly two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africans are not using mobile internet despite living in areas with coverage. For IoT applications requiring machine-to-machine communications across vast rural and desert territories, the gap is even more pronounced.
The economics of satellite IoT are compelling for Africa: once the constellation is in orbit, the marginal cost of serving an additional country is minimal. Algeria can partner with GeeSpace to extend the same services to neighboring countries without duplicating infrastructure investment. Revenue from continental service agreements would help amortize local manufacturing facility costs, while technical expertise would position Algerian engineers as go-to specialists for LEO satellite systems in Africa.
Competitive Landscape Across the Continent
Algeria is not the only African country pursuing space capabilities, but the GeeSpace partnership gives it a distinctive position.
Nigeria has the most established space program in sub-Saharan Africa through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), having launched multiple satellites since 2003 including Africa’s first communications satellite, NigComSat-1. Kenya hosts the Luigi Broglio Space Centre near Malindi, an Italian-operated equatorial facility with plans to resume satellite launches. South Africa maintains significant ground station infrastructure for global satellite monitoring networks.
Algeria’s differentiator is the combination of its large domestic market (the Saharan coverage challenge alone represents a massive addressable market), its two-decade institutional track record through ASAL, and now a manufacturing cooperation agreement with a well-funded partner whose constellation is already operational. If the partnership delivers, Algeria could become the first African country with domestic LEO satellite manufacturing capacity specifically targeting IoT applications.
Risks That Deserve Candid Assessment
Technology transfer depth remains the biggest uncertainty. Space sector cooperation agreements have a mixed track record globally. Whether Algeria achieves genuine manufacturing capability, including design, testing, and quality assurance, or ends up with an assembly-only arrangement will determine long-term industrial value.
Geopolitical considerations are unavoidable. Partnering with a Chinese company on satellite infrastructure carries implications as Western nations have expressed concerns about Chinese involvement in critical telecommunications infrastructure across Africa. Algeria will need to manage these sensitivities.
Commercial viability is unproven at scale. While the technology works, converting satellite IoT into profitable commercial services requires building customer awareness, developing distribution channels, and competing with expanding cellular IoT networks in urban areas.
Regulatory evolution is needed. Algeria’s telecommunications regulatory authority (ARPCE) will need to develop satellite IoT licensing frameworks covering spectrum allocation, data sovereignty, and orbital coordination, particularly regarding data generated by IoT devices on Algerian territory but transmitted through foreign-owned satellite constellations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the GeeSpace-Algeria partnership and what does it cover?
The partnership consists of two agreements signed in December 2025. The first, between Algerie Telecom Satellite (ATS) and GeeSpace, establishes a framework for co-developing a commercial satellite IoT service using GeeSpace’s 64-satellite GEESATCOM constellation. The second, between the Algeria Space Agency (ASAL) and GeeSpace, targets cooperation in LEO satellite manufacturing within Algeria. Both agreements envision phased implementation with potential expansion across Africa.
How does satellite IoT differ from services like Starlink?
Satellite IoT provides low-bandwidth, low-power connections to millions of small devices like sensors and trackers, rather than high-bandwidth internet to individual users. Devices transmit tiny data packets (bytes to kilobytes) at intervals of minutes to hours, requiring minimal power and enabling battery-operated or solar-powered sensors in remote locations. This makes it ideal for monitoring pipelines, agricultural fields, and vehicle fleets across Algeria’s 2.38 million km2 of territory, including the 80% that is Saharan desert.
What space capabilities does Algeria already have?
Algeria has been building space capabilities since ASAL’s founding in 2002, launching seven satellites including the Alcomsat-1 geostationary telecommunications satellite (2017) and the Alsat-3A and Alsat-3B Earth observation satellites in January 2026. ASAL engineers integrated the Alsat-2B satellite domestically at the Satellite Development Centre in Oran. However, Algeria has not yet achieved domestic LEO satellite manufacturing capacity, which is the gap the GeeSpace partnership aims to close.
Sources & Further Reading
- Algeria Signs Two Strategic Agreements with China’s Geespace — Space in Africa
- GeeSpace Expands Space Footprint in Africa Through Satellite Partnerships — Space in Africa
- Geespace Secures $281 Million for IoT Constellation and Global HQ — SpaceNews
- GEESATCOM Phase I Networking Completed, Achieving Global Real-Time Communication Coverage — BusinessWire
- Geely Constellation Sixth Launch Completes Phase I Deployment with 64 Satellites — Geely
- Algeria Launches Next Generation Earth Observation Satellite ALSAT-3A — Space in Africa
- GeeSpace Expands Satellite Partnerships in Algeria and Morocco — SatellitePro ME
