Facebooks Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring the next billion consumers in developing countries online, has partnered with French satellite operator Eutelsat to deliver free internet to sub-Saharan Africa.

The two companies, along with Israeli satellite operator Spacecom, have signed a multi-year agreement to utilise the entire broadband payload of an AMOS-6 satellite, a geostationary satellite which will become operational in the second half of 2016.

While Internet.org has received a lot of publicity since its launch in 2013, so far it is only accessible in a small number of countries in Africa such as Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. Access to the AMOS-6 satellite should dramatically increase the area the initiative can connect to the Internet.

“Facebooks mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa,” said Chris Daniels, vice president of Internet.org. “We are looking forward to partnering with Eutelsat on this project and investigating new ways to use satellites to connect people in the most remote areas of the world more efficiently.”

“We are excited by this opportunity to accelerate the deployment of our broadband strategy and to partner with Facebook on a new initiative to provide Internet access services in Africa,” said Michel de Rosen, chairman and CEO of Eutelsat. “Eutelsats strong track record in operating high throughput satellite systems will ensure that we can deliver accessible and robust internet solutions that get more users online and part of the information society.”