Elon Musk's Starlink is adding another African country to its rapidly growing footprint. The satellite internet provider has secured the licences required to begin operations in Côte d'Ivoire.
Elon Musk's Starlink is adding another African country to its rapidly growing footprint. The satellite internet provider has secured the licences required to begin operations in Côte d'Ivoire, where it is expected to launch services in July 2026, according to the country's Minister of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation, Djibril Ouattara.
The approval makes Côte d'Ivoire Starlink's 27th African market, further cementing the company's aggressive expansion across the continent.
The move stresses Starlink's growing ambition to bridge Africa's connectivity gap through its constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites. Unlike traditional telecom infrastructure, which often struggles to reach remote communities due to the high cost of fibre and tower deployment, Starlink's satellite-based network can deliver broadband connectivity directly to underserved areas.
For Côte d'Ivoire, the arrival of Starlink could provide a significant boost to internet access in rural communities, schools, healthcare facilities, and other regions that remain beyond the reach of conventional telecommunications infrastructure.
