American big tech companies want to become Africa’s next internet providers.
Earlier this month, Amazon acquired an operating license to roll out its low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service, Amazon Leo (earlier called Project Kuiper), in Nigeria. The approval places Amazon in direct competition with Elon Musk’s Starlink, and indirectly against Meta and Google, which are building massive subsea cables.
Starlink already operates at scale in Nigeria, attracting thousands of subscribers who rely on satellite internet where fibre and mobile networks are unreliable or unavailable. Across Africa, Starlink is active in more than a dozen markets, often serving communities underserved by traditional telecoms.
Africa remains the least-connected region in the world.”
“Africa remains the least-connected region in the world, yet this is precisely what makes it one of the most attractive markets for global connectivity providers,” Temidayo Oniosun, founder and managing director at consulting firm Space in Africa, told Rest of World. “The scale of unmet demand means that virtually every major player sees Africa as a strategic growth market.”
