Elon Musk announced on Sunday that his Starlink satellite internet service had been granted a license in Somalia.
Starlink’s network of low Earth orbit satellites can provide internet to remote locations or areas that have had normal communications infrastructure disabled.
Roughly 30 percent of Somalia’s population has access to the internet, according to the World Bank in 2022, but regular connectivity is frequently stymied by the east African country’s poor infrastructure.
“Starlink now in Somalia!” Musk said in a post on X, without giving any further details.
“Today is another historic day for Somalia’s communications and technology sectors, today we have issued here and provided Starlink, one of the major satellite telecommunications and internet services company the license to operate in Somalia,” a post on state media outlet SONNA said.
It added that the license had been issued after two years of discussions.
The massive connectivity gap between the world’s wealthier countries and those less advantaged is particularly acute on the African continent. AFP