To break down this issue, I analyzed the discussion between two specialists: Germain Brognon, senior consultant at Net Systèm, and Jean Lebris, technology, media and telecoms manager at the Africa CEO Forum. Their analyses agree on the essentials, but they shed light on different angles of a question that goes beyond technology alone.
- Starlink brings high-speed internet to poorly covered areas, but its cost puts it out of reach for most people.
- The kit costs between $200 and $400, with a monthly subscription of $30 to $70 according to one of the experts.
- In Senegal, the Supreme Court suspended Starlink’s authorization on September 7, 2026, following an appeal by Sonatel.
- The gaps in licensing fees and obligations between Starlink and telecom operators fuel the debate on fairness.
- Data sovereignty and the lack of local data centers are major challenges for Africa.
What Starlink really brings
Starlink’s main asset is geographic. According to Germain Brognon, the technology offers better speed and lower latency, with coverage extending across the entire territory. In most African countries, large cities are well covered with high-speed internet, but coverage collapses as soon as one leaves densely populated areas.
The figures cited by the expert nonetheless qualify the issue. Only 9% of Africans live outside any high-speed mobile internet coverage. By contrast, 63% live in a covered area without using mobile internet, for lack of equipment, purchasing power or training. The problem is therefore not only access to the signal, but also the ability to use it.
In this context, Starlink primarily targets specific audiences: entrepreneurs located outside covered areas, businesses, hospitals or schools. Germain Brognon also sees a less visible but strategic use: connecting by satellite the operators’ mobile antennas located far from the network, where radio links are limited in speed and fiber is almost impossible to deploy.
A service still very expensive for most people
Price is the first obstacle. Jean Lebris says the connection kit costs between $200 and $400, to which is added a monthly subscription he places between $30 and $70. He considers this level significantly higher than that of mobile or fixed internet. A report broadcast during the program, focused on Gabon, mentions for its part a subscription of around $100 per month observed in other countries.
Starlink’s weight in the market therefore remains limited. Jean Lebris mentions a share of around 1%, even in countries where the service is already well established. About thirty African countries are said to have granted the company a license, with a notable presence in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In his view, Starlink does not directly compete with telecom operators: it complements their offering, notably in rural areas and for certain business customers, without being able to replace it.
The Senegalese case, a revealer of tensions
Senegal illustrates these frictions well. According to the report broadcast during the program, Starlink was authorized in November 2025 to provide fixed satellite internet for five years. The state had announced the purchase of 5,000 kits intended for white zones, schools and local authorities.
On September 7, 2026, however, the Supreme Court ordered the provisional suspension of this authorization, following an appeal by Sonatel, which contests the conditions under which it was granted. At the heart of the dispute is the question of regulatory fairness between Starlink and the established operators (Sonatel Orange, Yas, Expresso) in terms of authorization, fees, coverage and quality of service.
Jean Lebris highlights the gap in obligations, based on figures from the Senegalese case:
- Starlink license: $150,000 for 5 years.
- Sonatel license: $150 million for 17 years, or about $9 million per year.
- Universal service fund contribution: levied at between 0.2% and 3.5% of telecom operators’ revenues, but not yet applied uniformly to Starlink.
To this is added the question of jobs and investment. According to Jean Lebris, Starlink creates no local jobs and has no investment obligation in the countries where it operates, unlike traditional operators. He infers a tax revenue shortfall for states. In the program, the Senegalese telecom sector is presented as accounting for 3.6% of GDP, with revenue close to 168 billion CFA francs.
Threat or opportunity for operators
Germain Brognon acknowledges that Starlink can represent a threat. The latest satellites are compatible with recent smartphones (Samsung, Apple): this is known as “direct to device”, which makes it possible to make calls, send text messages and exchange data without going through a local operator. This calls for regulation capable of protecting the sector.
He also sees an opportunity. Operators can partner with satellite providers to serve their isolated antennas, as Orange already does in some African countries. His warning concerns dependence: one should be wary of a single provider, whatever its nationality, and regulators must continue to protect consumers in terms of data, quality of service and fair competition.
Jean Lebris adds a political difficulty. Regulations vary greatly from one African state to another, which weakens their negotiating power against American or European players. Among these players, he cites Starlink and Amazon Leo. He advocates harmonization, in order to impose on satellite operators obligations comparable to those of telecom operators.
Data sovereignty, at the heart of the debate
The debate goes beyond commercial competition alone. Jean Lebris points out that data transiting through Starlink is encrypted and stored outside the country of operation, then routed to the United States or Europe. He raises the possibility for countries such as Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal to require a local gateway in order to retain oversight of these flows.
The observation is broader when it comes to infrastructure. According to him, Africa hosts about 0.6% of the world’s data centers, with some 260 facilities, most of them in terms of capacity in South Africa, for about one fifth of the world’s population. Germain Brognon notes that the data of Microsoft’s Azure cloud is located only in South Africa, with one notable exception: Oracle has developed significant infrastructure in Morocco.
For him, the answer lies in a “technology mix”. Satellite cannot do everything, hence the importance of submarine and terrestrial cables, including a major cable he says was completed in 2025, and of local data centers. He fears that, without this, the domination already seen with the large digital platforms could be repeated at the infrastructure level.
African operators are reorganizing
Faced with this pressure, operators are not standing still. Jean Lebris observes a movement toward infrastructure sharing. In Morocco, a partnership concluded in June 2025 between Maroc Telecom and inwi gave rise to two entities, Unifiber and Unitower, intended to speed up the deployment of fiber optics and 5G, notably in rural areas. This approach makes it possible to share very high costs in remote areas, where roads are lacking and where electricity, often dependent on diesel, is unreliable.
The players themselves are largely continental, according to Germain Brognon: Maroc Telecom, Airtel, MTN, but also Axian, a Malagasy group. He also cites international players such as Orange and Vodafone. Many are diversifying into fintech, with mobile money as the driver. Jean Lebris mentions 500 million active accounts on the continent, and estimates that sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for about two thirds of the world’s mobile money accounts.
A sector that weighs heavily on the economy
The economic stakes are considerable. Germain Brognon puts the sector at around 240 billion (in dollars, according to him) and at 8% of African GDP in 2025. Jean Lebris also mentions 240 billion in annual revenue, but in euros, a currency discrepancy that remains to be clarified. For consumers, these operators create local value through jobs and tax revenue, which, according to Jean Lebris, makes them globally more beneficial than satellite players who “extract” value.
He nonetheless qualifies this: technological developments could change the game. He cites offers where satellite access is obtained directly from a mobile phone, without buying a kit, notably through Airtel. It is a market to watch.
What I take away
Starlink is neither an absolute blessing nor an existential threat for African telecoms. It meets a real need for connectivity in isolated areas and among business customers, but its cost reserves it for a minority and its limited local contribution fuels tensions. The Senegalese dispute shows that the real issue is regulatory: as long as rules remain disparate from one country to another, states will negotiate in a fragmented way.
The question remains open. Will African countries manage to impose fair obligations, develop their own infrastructure and retain control of their data? Upcoming court and regulatory decisions, in Senegal as in Gabon where the framework has yet to be clarified, will serve as a test.
FAQ
Is Starlink available everywhere in Africa?
No. According to Jean Lebris, about thirty African countries have granted a license, with a strong presence in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In Gabon, the regulatory framework has yet to be clarified.
How much does Starlink cost in Africa?
According to Jean Lebris, the kit costs between $200 and $400 and the monthly subscription between $30 and $70. A report mentions around $100 per month in other countries.
Why was Starlink’s authorization suspended in Senegal?
On September 7, 2026, the Supreme Court provisionally suspended the authorization following an appeal by Sonatel, which contests the conditions under which it was granted, notably the fairness of treatment compared with established operators.
Can Starlink replace telecom operators?
Not in the short term, according to both experts. It complements the offering in rural areas and for businesses, but its cost and small market share prevent it from doing so.
