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ViaSat (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares jumped Wednesday after the company and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced a new partnership to increase internet availability for 5 million people across Africa and an additional 5 million worldwide by the end of 2025.
The partnership is via Microsoft’s Airband Initiative. The companies said they will work together to “deepen Airband’s work” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States while prioritizing the expansion of the program to Egypt, Senegal, and Angola.
“Working with Viasat, we will use satellite to reach remote areas that previously have had few, if any, options for conventional connectivity. Together, we will be able to rapidly scale and expand Airband’s reach, exploring a wider pipeline of projects and new countries where we haven’t yet worked,” said Microsoft.
The partnership builds upon the existing relationship between Viasat and Microsoft Azure Space to deliver advances in satellite connectivity.
At the time of writing, Viasat shares are up 2.32%.
