Elon Musk's Starlink battles red tape and price hikes in Africa
Elon Musk has received millions of dollars in aid from Africa, and his company, Starlink, is seeking licenses to provide satellite internet, including in his native South Africa and Lesotho. Notably, Lesotho's leader was recently insulted by US President Donald Trump.
In Africa, within two years, Elon Musk has managed to persuade 17 countries to adopt satellite internet, including Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe, according to data published on the Starlink website.
Musk fights for contracts in Africa
This year, Liberia became another African country within Musk's satellite network reach. Minister Abdullah Kamara, the head of Liberia's telecommunications authority, almost simultaneously signed an agreement with Musk to supply internet. At the same time, President Trump mockingly criticized American funding for "social cohesion" projects in Liberia, labeling them as "scams."
Although Liberia, due to embezzlement of millions of dollars, is not the best example of rational spending of funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the program mocked by Trump aimed to bridge ethnic differences in a deeply divided country. These differences led to two civil wars 25 years ago, in which about 250,000 people died.
Also, in Lesotho, which the American president recently insulted by saying "nobody has heard of this country," Musk is seeking a ten-year license for his company.
In Nigeria, the first African nation to sign an agreement with Musk in 2023 and which has felt the impact of American aid cutoffs, Starlink has encountered significant problems. Last year, without any consultation, the company increased its service prices by 100 percent. After the price hike, internet service in Nigeria became more expensive than in most European countries, reaching a current cost of $46. It is even more expensive in impoverished Eswatini, where the monthly subscription costs over $50.
In Liberia, one of the world's poorest countries, the monthly cost for Starlink's service is $40, which is not significantly cheaper. This price does not account for the expenses of diesel required to operate the power generator, essential for the internet to function properly.
Starlink criticized
In Africa, Starlink is criticized by local telecommunications companies, which accuse it of not investing in local jobs and infrastructure. Additionally, Namibian authorities ordered Musk's company to leave last November because it was offering internet without a valid license.
Trump's advisor encounters the most significant obstacles to signing a contract in his native South Africa. His efforts are hampered by the "Black Economic Empowerment" regulation, which aims to strengthen the economic position of black individuals. The government requires Starlink to allocate at least 30 percent of the shares to shareholders from "historically disadvantaged groups," which refers to the continent's indigenous people.
Additionally, both Trump and Musk have accused the authorities in Pretoria of "white citizens' genocide," to whom the American president even offered asylum in the United States. This offer did not facilitate negotiations to include South Africa in Starlink's coverage.
