What will it take to connect Africa at scale, sustainably and intelligently?

In this TechAfrica News podcast, Omar Diab, Regional VP of Sales for the Middle East and Africa at ST Engineering iDirect, spoke with Akim Benamara, Chief Editor and Founder of TechAfrica News, on the shifts reshaping connectivity in Africa. The conversation explored satellite evolution, multi-orbit strategy, 5G expansion, AI-driven network management, and new investment models, highlighting what it will take to bridge rural access gaps without sacrificing performance or profitability.

About Our Guest
Omar Diab is Regional VP for the Middle East and Africa at ST Engineering iDirect He has extensive experience in market expansion, revenue growth, B2B sales, key account management, and partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. His focus is scaling businesses, strengthening ecosystems, and delivering sustained growth.

The Connectivity Gap: Cost, Scale and Smart Deployment
Over 300 million Africans lack reliable connectivity. Diab notes the bottleneck is economic rather than technical, with rural deployment needing to be profitable for providers and affordable for users. LEO satellites, once a niche solution, are now central to expansion strategies. New entrants are viewed as ecosystem partners rather than threats.

Africa Is Not a Country: The Case for Market Specificity
Connectivity needs vary across Africa. LEOs provide base access, but government, defense, and enterprise sectors require high-throughput, high-SLA solutions. ST Engineering iDirect focuses on multi-orbit and hybrid integration to meet these needs.

Intuition: Standardization, Virtualization and AI
The company’s Intuition platform uses interoperability, virtualization, and AI to future-proof satellite networks. Standards like 5G NTN and DIFI enable seamless integration. AI supports anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and digital twins, simplifying operations rather than adding complexity.

5G Beyond the Cities: Hybrid and Multi-Orbit Backhaul
Satellite is key for 5G outside major cities. Hybrid and multi-orbit models split traffic efficiently, keeping delay-sensitive services on GEO while offloading bulk data. The “Unbound” approach shifts from CapEx to usage-based OpEx, helping operators expand rurally with less risk.

“From a geo perspective, that segment isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The penetration of LEOs has strengthened our position and highlighted the roles of each operator or constellation in the ecosystem. We see the complement between new market entrants and the traditional model, like terrestrial fiber and evolving GEOs driving high throughput. It all contributes to delivering a complete ecosystem, with multi-orbit playing an important role.” – Omar Diab, Regional Vice President of Sales for the Middle East and Africa, ST Engineering iDirect 

Partnership, Flexibility and the Push to Reduce Complexity
Partnerships are central to ST Engineering iDirect’s strategy. Collaborations with partners like Q-KON test AI-driven analysis and guide product evolution. Software-defined modems and virtualization allow agile adaptation to market needs. Operators now demand flexibility, efficiency, and reduced complexity, with AI enabling simpler, smarter networks.

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