The escalating rivalry between African owned telecom providers and Starlink heralds a transformative phase in broadband accessibility, particularly for Africa’s rural landscapes, as both entities intensify competitive efforts to bridge the continent’s persistent digital divide.
Elon Musk’s Starlink has been steadily deflating smaller internet service providers in Africa’s metropolitan hubs, while telecommunications giants are vigorously advancing their expansion beyond urban confines. This growing contention presents a pivotal opportunity to address the stark disparities in internet accessibility that plague rural regions.
According to GlobalData, a preeminent analytics firm, the disruptive emergence of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity is prompting legacy telecom companies to recalibrate their strategic outlook, compelling them to adopt innovative countermeasures to retain their foothold in the market.
Senior Analyst for Enterprise Technology and Services at GlobalData Ismail Patel said The swift pivot of African telecom operators towards broader connectivity ambitions can be ascribed to a confluence of variables, with Starlink serving as a principal catalyst. These operators are increasingly viewing historically neglected territories not as economic dead zones, but as viable frontiers for investment.
Recent statistics underscore Starlink’s accelerating influence in West and East Africa, with its user base in Kenya doubling within a year and its status in Nigeria ascending to the second-largest ISP, trailing only behind Spectranet.
Data from Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) reveals that as of Q3 2024, Starlink had amassed 65,564 subscribers, rapidly closing in on Spectranet’s 105,441-strong customer base. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA) documented Starlink’s subscriber count reaching 16,700 by September 2024.
Though these figures remain modest compared to the tens of millions served by established telecom firms, the rapid inroads Starlink is making have spurred mobile network operators into defensive action. In response, incumbents such as Kenya’s Safaricom have engaged in aggressive pricing strategies and regulatory manoeuvring to shield their urban market share, particularly in Nairobi, where Starlink’s initial installation costs are more affordable to city dwellers.
An International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report titled ‘Measuring Digital Development’ underscores the urgency of these developments, revealing that by the end of 2024, a mere 23% of rural Africans had internet access, compared to the global rural connectivity rate of 48%. This stark contrast highlights the immense potential for telecom and satellite firms to close the digital divide.
Amongst those spearheading these rural expansion efforts is Orange. The company, having previously allied with Vodacom to curtail telecom tower installation costs in remote areas, has now announced a strategic partnership with Eutelsat to deploy satellite internet across its African markets.
The initial rollout of this satellite-based connectivity will commence in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with plans for incremental expansion across the region.
