Facebook will launch a satellite later this week to extend internet access to rural parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said. The satellite will "beam down connectivity," the CEO said in a presentation on Wednesday in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. "We built these solar-powered drones that are basically like a cellphone tower in the sky. They can go over really remote rural locations and beam down connectivity to make sure networks spread and reach everyone."

Facebook opened its first Africa office in Johannesburg last year and agreed to a deal with Paris-based Eutelsat Communications SA to launch the satellite. The move is intended to enable Facebook to add users in parts of the continent that don’t have internet access, increasing the company’s reach.