Somaliland to Join Elon Musk’s Starlink Network in 2023
At least 20 African countries have either rolled out or are set to get Starlink before South Africa, according to the service’s official coverage map.
Starlink is a satellite broadband service run by Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX.
It is supported by a network of over 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites which SpaceX has been launching in batches since 2019.
Due to Starlink satellites being located much nearer to Earth’s surface than conventional geostationary Internet-beaming satellites, Starlink provides much higher speeds and lower latency than the average satellite service.
The standard rectangular satellite dish for residential usage is rated for download speeds from 20-100Mbps, with latency between 25-50ms.
It could prove particularly useful in rural areas with limited or no mobile connectivity or fixed broadband access. Such communities are plentiful in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa including Somaliland.
With SpaceX founder Elon Musk born in the country, some expected he might have some predisposition to bring the service to the country as soon as possible. This does not appear to be the case.
The Starlink world coverage map provides an overview of locations where the service is available and when it will be available in areas where it is not yet offered
The first two African countries confirmed to be getting Starlink are Mozambique and Nigeria, with rollouts set down for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Seven other countries on the continent — Angola, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania — are slated for rollout in the first quarter of 2023.
Eleven more African countries also have their estimated availability dates as sometime in 2023.
Including the officially-unrecognized state of Somaliland, 12 countries on the continent will get the service next year