The satellite, to be called "Intelsat New Dawn," will provide high-speed Internet, telephone and television services to the continent and is expected to begin operating in early 2011, Intelsat said in a statement.

"Africa has been one of the fastest-growing regions for fixed satellite services in recent years," it said.

"The New Dawn joint venture was established to provide solutions for African communication needs," it added.

The project will be funded by 15 percent equity and 85 percent loans, Intelsat said.

"Over the course of this satellite's life, it will provide world-class connectivity, allowing businesses to grow and rural communities to connect," the chairman of Convergence Partners investor group, Andile Ngcaba, said in the statement.

"Once in service, Intelsat New Dawn will be an integral part of our global, resilient satellite network, providing growth capacity and allowing us to further expand our services to our long-time customers in Africa," Intelsat's chief executive David McGlade said.

Poor communications is often blamed for hindering investment in Africa. The lack of infrastructure in many countries has limited the use of fixed-line services, forcing consumers to turn to satellite or wireless technology instead.

All rights reserved. copyright 2018 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.