In 2023, Nigeria And 21 Other African Nations Will Receive Elon Musk’s Starlink

At the beginning of 2023, Starlink updated its global coverage map with revised anticipated availability dates for a number of nations. Several African countries, notably Nigeria and Mozambique, which were earlier expected to have the service by the end of last year, had their previous ETAs pushed back. As of right present, the second quarter of 2023 is the earliest that the first African nations are anticipated to have Starlink.

When Somaliland is included, there are 22 officially recognized African nations where Starlink plans to launch services in the upcoming year. Western Sahara is another contested region where Starlink is scheduled to become live in 2023. This year, the service will be available to Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, three of South Africa’s neighbors.

In 2024, 15 other nations are expected to receive the service, including Namibia and Botswana, two more of South Africa’s neighbors. Starlink’s rollout windows reflect the developments in SpaceX’s discussions with the necessary telecoms regulators in each nation. This is so because the service depends on the radio frequency spectrum, like any other wireless network.

Each nation requires a license to utilize this spectrum, and some jurisdictions have to approve the customer-premises equipment needed to access the service. The table below lists the African nations where Starlink intends to launch in 2023 and 2024 and those where no specific launch dates have yet been set.