Billion dollar order: Nigeria has fallen out with China and is buying a communications satellite from Israel

The Nigerian government has approved the acquisition of two next-generation communications satellites, one from the Israeli Aviation Industry and one from the French Thales Alenia Space.

The devices will be named NigComSat-2A and NigComSat-2B. The project will be led by NIGCOMSAT together with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of Nigeria.

Each satellite is estimated to cost approximately a billion dollars.

The new satellites are intended to replace the aging NigComSat-1R, launched in 2011 and approaching the end of its designed 15-year service life.

Nigeria previously purchased communications satellites from China, but relations with China have deteriorated sharply recently due to financial disagreements.

Nigeria’s new strategy aims to reduce dependence on China while increasing the broadband capacity of new satellites to expand digital services in remote and underserved regions.

The additional capacity should also support education, health care, agriculture and financial services, strengthening secure communications for critical national missions, including homeland security and defense.

The first satellite is planned to be launched by the end of 2028, the second in 2029 or 2030. It should be emphasized that at this time we are talking only about a decision in principle and not about binding contracts.