Starlink has obtained an operating license in Zambia. This comes after conducting tests in nine provinces, allowing the company to deploy its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in the Southern African nation.
According to Percy Chinyama, the national coordinator of the Smart Zambia Institute, the aim of Starlink's LEO satellite services is to extend broadband connectivity to underserved users in remote areas of Zambia. The Zambian government has been actively working to connect its citizens and recently entered into an agreement with Liquid Intelligent Technologies to provide internet services to secondary schools. As part of this partnership, Liquid Intelligent Technologies committed to building a data center to meet the growing data-hosting demands of local businesses.
Zambia now joins other African countries, including Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and the French department islands of Reunion and Mayotte, where Starlink's satellite-based internet services are available. Nigeria became the first African country to launch Starlink in January 2023, followed by Rwanda in February. Recently, Starlink also began offering its services in Mozambique. Starlink has plans to expand its services further in Africa. According to Starlink's website, Botswana and Malawi are scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2023, while Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Angola are expected to follow in the fourth quarter of 2023.
However, the timing of Starlink's availability in South Africa remains uncertain. With approximately 1 million subscribers and nearly 4,000 satellites launched, Starlink continues to expand its presence worldwide, bringing satellite-based internet connectivity to previously underserved areas.
