N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad stated on Tuesday it had accredited the licensing of Elon Musk’s satellite tv for pc web supplier Starlink to enhance entry to web companies within the central African nation.
Starlink, the satellite tv for pc unit of SpaceX, operates in a number of African international locations however has confronted regulatory challenges in others and resistance from state telecoms monopolies.
“We have been talking to Starlink since 2021 and we have managed to agree on the essentials,” Chad’s Communications Minister Boukar Michel advised Reuters by phone.
The newest World Bank figures present that solely 12% of Chad’s inhabitants had entry to web in 2022.
“A large part of our territory is not covered by fibre optics, and I believe that Starlink will help us bridge this gap,” Michel stated, including that higher web entry will permit Chad to digitalize public companies in distant areas and enhance the event of tech start-ups.
“Starlink now available in Chad!” Musk posted on X on Monday. The web supplier operates in a number of African international locations together with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Benin, South Sudan, Eswatini and Sierra Leone.
Earlier this 12 months, Cameroon ordered the seizure of Starlink gear at ports because it was not licensed.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s largest telecoms agency Safaricom has urged regulators to contemplate requiring satellite tv for pc web suppliers reminiscent of Starlink to associate with native cellular community operators.
(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
