(JTA) — Facebook will launch an Israeli-made satellite to bring Internet access to sub-Saharan Africa.
Israel Aerospace Industries is building the AMOS-6 satellite, which will be operated by the Israeli company Spacecom in partnership with Eutelsat Communications of France.
On Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the partnership with Eutelsat to launch the satellite, which costs about $300 million, on his Facebook page.
The satellite, which is expected to operate for 16 years, is set to launch in 2016, Zuckerberg said.
Spacecom is expected to earn about $100 million from the deal, according to Reuters.
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