Starlink’s coverage in Africa is expanding rapidly. Nigeria was the first country on the continent to go live in January 2023.

Eight other countries joined that year alone. Four more followed in 2024, and since January 2025, Starlink has rolled out in Niger, Liberia, Ghana, South Sudan, Burundi and Cabo Verde. During the same period, the US firm secured licences in Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho and, on 2 May, the Democratic Republic of Congo*.

Starlink has bold ambitions. It plans to offer satellite internet in nearly 40 African countries by year-end.

Each arrival – whether announced or active – fuels high hopes for greater digital inclusion. Speed is also part of the pitch. In Niger, Starlink claims download rates of between 77 and 209 megabits per second.

“Niger will benefit from this cutting-edge, ultra-fast technology at a very low cost,” said Sidi Mohamed Raliou, Niger’s communication and digital economy minister, in October 2024 during the official signing of a deal with the American firm. “It will provide coverage of between 80% and 100% of our territory.”

Regulatory hurdles and political headwinds

Still, Starlink faces a rocky road. “In Africa, Starlink has received a mixed reception,” said digital economy analyst Antony Virgil Adopo, speaking to The Africa Report in August. “Its model raises questions – first, because it is ubiquitous and can enter markets almost overnight, unlike traditional operators who must invest heavily in infrastructure. Second, because it has no physical footprint in Africa.”

 

Winning over regulators is proving no easier. In Côte d’Ivoire – one of the countries Starlink plans to add to its network by the end of 2025 – talks are moving at a glacial pace. In March 2024, Cote d’Ivoire’s national telecoms regulator, known as ARTCI, halted the sale of Starlink kits, which had begun without a proper licence.

“ARTCI reminds the public that setting up and operating telecoms/ICT networks to provide internet access without authorisation is illegal and subject to penalties under current regulations,” it warned.

A few weeks later, Cameroon cracked down too. Once again, kits were being sold without a licence.

“This type of equipment, which enables unlimited and ultra-fast internet access, is not under the control of the telecommunications regulatory agency and may pose a threat to national security,” said Fongod Edwin Nuvaga, director-general of customs. He ordered the “systematic seizure” of all unlicensed Starlink kits.

 

A personal feud in South Africa

In South Africa, Starlink ran into similar problems: kit sales began before a licence had been granted. That regulatory tussle escalated into a political clash, with Elon Musk accusing his country of birth of racial bias. “Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa simply because I’m not Black,” Musk posted on X.

But the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa says otherwise. It claimed never to have received a licence application from Starlink at all.

Under South African law, telecoms operators must be at least 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups. Musk, born in apartheid-era South Africa in 1971, does not qualify.

Now a vocal supporter of Donald Trump – who appointed him to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with slashing federal budgets – Musk has found himself locked in a tug-of-war with Pretoria. On this front, it seems he has the backing of the US president.