Chad has officially licensed SpaceX’s Starlink services, making it the latest African country to approve Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services.
Elon Musk shared the news on the microblogging platform X, highlighting the progress toward enhanced digital connectivity in Africa.
Chad’s Minister of Communications, Digital Economy, and Administrative Digitalisation, Minister Boukar Michel, expressed optimism about Starlink’s potential to address the nation’s longstanding internet reliability and affordability challenges, which have persisted since early 2024.
Minister Boukar Michel also noted, in a statement to Reuters, that discussions with Starlink have been ongoing since 2021 as part of Chad’s larger effort to close connectivity gaps and support digital transformation.
With Chad’s recent approval, Starlink’s reach has expanded to 16 African countries, including Burundi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Botswana, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone, all of which received operating approvals in the past six months.
This milestone reflects Starlink’s rapid expansion across the continent, offering promising solutions for countries with underserved digital infrastructures.
