DRC awards Musk Starlink licence

Billionaire Elon Musk said on Sunday in an X post that the company's satellite system Starlink is now available in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reports TimesLIVE. DRC said on Friday it had become the latest African country to grant a licence to Starlink, reversing an earlier ban. The DRC Government said in March 2024 that use of Starlink was banned, with military officials warning that it could be used by rebel groups, including Rwandan-backed M23, which has seized more territory than ever before in the east of the country this year. War-torn DRC has low connectivity, with just around 30% of the population using the internet as of 2023, according to the International Telecommunication Union. In March 2024, the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said use of Starlink was banned and violators would face sanctions. The same entity announced on Friday that the company had been given a licence and ‘will proceed with the launch of its services in the coming days’.

Meanwhile, last week Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he had a productive meeting with representatives of Musk's Starlink, which is considering setting up operations in the country, according to a report in The East African. Starlink was granted licences by Somalia and Lesotho in April. ‘I appreciate their commitment to providing low-cost internet in hard-to-reach areas and establishing a presence in Uganda. They are welcome,’ Museveni said on social media. Ugandan consumers have complained about the high cost and unreliability of domestic internet services, problems that Starlink may be able to help solve. It’s unclear if Starlink had already formally applied for a licence to operate in Uganda. A spokesperson for the sector regulator Uganda Communications Commision did not respond to requests for comment. Starlink would compete with a unit of SA’s MTN group, which is the dominant player in Uganda, and a branch of India's Bharti Airtel. While Starlink is expanding in Africa, it is not opening up in SA, despite its SA-born founder, because of a disagreement over the country’s empowerment and ownership rules.

Full report in The East African

Full TimesLIVE report