Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth noted that Vodacom is one of Africa’s largest carriers, providing service to tens of millions of people in multiple countries. “We view this as the first step to a larger partnership that will allow us to serve more of those users throughout Africa,” he said in a statement.

So far, Loon has landed deals to supply network to underserved regions in Puerto Rico, Kenya and Peru. The company recently created the HAPS alliance with telecoms and other firms including Deutsche Telekom, Softbank, Airbus, Nokia and Telefonica to promote the use of stratospheric balloons for internet services. The company teamed with AT&T earlier this month in a project to provide internet to crisis-hit regions.

In Mozambique, Loon and Vodacom must first install terrestrial infrastructure to connect the balloons to Vodacom’s core networks. Loon will also fly test balloons to learn the local stratospheric wind patterns and ensure that the final balloons remain in the service area. With all that complete, service can start sometime “in the coming months,” the companies said.