Airtel Africa teams up with SpaceX to offer Starlink net

Airtel Africa has partnered with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring the latter's Starlink high-speed satellite internet service to customers in Africa.

"SpaceX has acquired the requisite licences in nine out of 14 countries within Airtel Africa's footprint. Operating licenses for the other 5 countries are under process," Bharti Airtel's Africa unit said in a statement on Tuesday.

Airtel Africa added that the pact with SpaceX will further enhance its next-generation satellite connectivity offerings, and augment connectivity for enterprises, businesses, and socio-economic communities like schools, health centres in even the most rural parts of the continent.


Airtel Africa will also explore rural coverage expansion through cellular backhauling, it added. "This partnership with SpaceX is a significant step to demonstrate our continued commitment to advancing Africa's digital economy through strategic investments and partnerships," said Sunil Taldar, managing director, Airtel Africa.

Chad Gibbs, vice president of Starlink business operations at SpaceX said Starlink is currently available in more than 20 African markets. "The team at Airtel has played a pivotal role in Africa's telecom story, so working with them to complement our direct offering across Africa makes great sense for our business."

Airtel Africa and SpaceX will also continue to explore other areas to promote digital inclusion in the continent as well as SpaceX's ability to use and benefit from Airtel's ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in Africa.

This March, Airtel announced a distribution pact to bring Starlink's services to India. This, though, can happen only after SpaceX secures its own authorisations from the Indian government to sell Starlink services in India. Satcom services are still to commence in India, with companies awaiting rules on pricing and the method of satellite spectrum allocation.