SpaceX Starlink has struck a deal with Niger’s ruling military junta to provide satellite internet service in the country. The deal aims to expand coverage in a country where internet access is very low.
The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Sidi Mohamed Raliou, told state broadcaster, Tele Sahel, that the project has the potential to significantly improve internet service quality, targeting an average speed of 200 Mbit/s, according to Connecting Africa. He also mentioned that this amazing technology will cost the country very little, which is probably thanks to Starlink. The company is aiming to expand internet access to as many people as possible across the planet. According to the Starlink availability map, the service will be available in Niger in 2025.
“Niger will benefit from this cutting-edge, high-speed technology at a very low cost,” the minister said.
The agreement with Niger comes just two weeks after Liberia granted Starlink a one-year temporary license to begin operations in November 2024.
Niger has a population of 27.71 million people. According to the DataReportal platform, there were 4.69 million internet users in Niger at the beginning of 2024. This means that the internet penetration rate was only 16.9%. The number of internet users in Niger increased by 172,000 people, or 3.8%, between January 2023 and January 2024. With the deployment of Starlink, the internet penetration rate should increase significantly.
Starlink has been actively working in Africa lately to provide the widest possible internet access to as many countries and people as possible. The service currently operates in African countries such as Burundi, Botswana, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Benin, Rwanda, Malawi, Mozambique, as well as Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Eswatini.
