Airtel Africa has struck a deal with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet to its 14-country footprint with the agreement set to initially focus on nine countries.
Currently, SpaceX has acquired requisite licenses in 9 out of 14 countries within Airtel Africa’s footprint including; Nigeria, Chad, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Niger, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Operating licenses for Uganda and the other 4 countries are under process.
The collaboration leverages Starlink’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites and Airtel’s entrenched customer network of over 163 million subscribers. Starlink, licensed to operate in the nine rollout countries, currently serves some 237,000 users across Africa.
Once fully operational, the partnership is expected to extend reliable, high-speed connectivity to millions more, especially in remote and underserved regions where traditional fiber and terrestrial mobile networks struggle to penetrate.
The satellite-ground network hybrid is set to enable consistent voice and data services where laying cables remain prohibitively expensive or geographically challenging.
With this collaboration, Airtel Africa will further enhance its next-generation satellite connectivity offerings and augment connectivity for enterprises, businesses, and socio-economic communities like schools, health centres in even the most rural parts of Africa. Airtel Africa will also explore rural coverage expansion through cellular backhauling.
Ugandan enterprises urged to explore regional oil and gas opportunitiesAirtel Africa in a statement said, it will continue to explore other areas to promote digital inclusion in the continent as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilize and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in Africa.
“Next-generation satellite connectivity will ensure that every individual, business, and community have reliable and affordable voice and data connectivity even in the most remote and currently under-served parts of Africa,” Airtel Africa MD and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said.
SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Business Operations Chad Gibbs welcomed the opportunity to join forces with important industry leaders noting that the Airtel team has played a pivotal role in Africa’s telecom story.
“Working with them [Airtel] to complement our direct offering across Africa makes great sense for our business,” he added.
Starlink is currently available in more than 20 African markets.
During the month of April, Bharti Airtel, a multinational telco operating in more than 18 countries globally signed a distribution agreement allowing it to sell SpaceX’s Starlink internet services in India.
