AALTOHAPS, a subsidiary of Airbus, said it plans to establish its first comprehensive base in Kenya to start providing commercial operations. AALTO CEO Samer Halawi said in a recent interview that the company’s goal is to deploy Zephyr solar-powered drones that can stay in the air for dozens of days at four or five bases around the world, starting in Kenya.
Zephyr is more like a satellite than a drone in the traditional sense. Zephyr is able to provide low-latency, direct-to-device 4G/5G services day or night, acting as an aerial tower that can complement terrestrial networks.
"We will provide more mobile connectivity, platform mobility, Earth observation and government applications from previously unexplored altitudes, orbits or boundaries," Halawi added, referring to the stratospheric range, about 20 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
That's lower than the Starlink satellite network offered by Musk's SpaceX, which operates in so-called low Earth orbit, about 550 kilometers above the ground. AALTO says its Zephyr drones can be launched whenever needed, and the company plans to sell its services to mobile operators rather than individual customers.
Halawi emphasized that the company expects Zephyr drones to eventually be able to stay in the air for 200 days and can replace mobile towers in remote areas or during natural disasters. It can also be used for remote observation and transmit video and images in near real-time, allowing governments to monitor forest fires, border movement and insecurity.
The company claims that its first base in Kenya will create up to 1,000 direct and indirect jobs. The reasons given by AALTO for choosing Kenya were: weather, vast space, uncrowded airspace, stable government, economic environment, well-educated young people, and technology-savvy population.
It is reported that AALTO’s business in Kenya will be launched early next year and will begin providing services to customers in the third quarter. AALTO has held talks with local telecommunications companies Safaricom Plc and Telkom Kenya to discuss providing network connectivity to about 3% of Kenya, mostly in remote areas.
AALTO has also met with Kenyan aviation, meteorological and communications authorities to discuss setting up a branch in the East African country, but has yet to receive all the approvals needed to operate.