How Facebook's internet beaming satellite will work

Facebook is partnering with the European satellite company Eutelsat to beam the internet to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa that don't currently have access.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news on his Facebook page last week that the company will use Eutelsat's Amos-6 satellite to provide the coverage.

"The Amos-6 satellite is under construction now and will launch in 2016 into a geostationary orbit that will cover large parts of West, East and Southern Africa," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

The move is part of Facebook's Internet.org, a non-profit initiative to bring free internet services to people around the world.

Here's how the satellite will work.