👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – ‘M&A machine’

Since January 2023, when Nigeria became the first African country to switch on Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite Internet company has continued to spread its wings across the continent; in some places, it has been successful, and in a few others, it’s been a bit chaotic. However, Starlink would be celebrating an important milestone: it is now live in half of Africa’s 54 countries.

What’s happening: On Friday, Starlink launched in Côte d’Ivoire, allowing citizens to legally buy and use the service, after months of repeated warnings from regulators. Users can buy residential plans that offer up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) in Internet speed, among the fastest on the continent.

Explain like I’m new here: The launch follows the Ivorian government’s decision to grant Starlink a 12-month provisional licence after months of regulatory back-and-forth. This back-and-forth is becoming one of the company’s trademarks, as evidenced in markets like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was initially banned before being licenced, and South Africa and Namibia, where ownership rules continue to keep it waiting.

Doesn’t Côte d’Ivoire already have satellite Internet? Sure, but having the birthright doesn’t always guarantee the throne. In January, Orange Côte d’Ivoire, a telecom operator, partnered with French satellite company Eutelsat to launch Orange Sat, while MTN Côte d’Ivoire struck its own deal with Eutelsat to offer satellite connectivity. However, they use satellite capacity to extend their existing networks into places where laying fibre or building mobile towers is too expensive. Customers can still buy Internet from Orange or MTN, unlike Starlink, which sells dishes directly to households.

Now the hard part: Starlink says it plans to launch in another 18 African countries before the end of 2026. Several countries, including South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Sudan, still have no planned launch date, largely because of licencing hurdles, local ownership rules, or state-controlled telecom markets. Starlink made it to 27, but will it get to 54? It remains to be seen.