SpaceX will soon be expanding their Starlink service into a second African nation. Rwanda granted the aerospace company a license this week to operate their satellite internet service in the country. Last month Nigeria became the first country in Africa to receive Starlink service.
The Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) announced that Starlink will launch before the end of the first quarter, the same date SpaceX has listed on the Starlink availability map. The company has been testing the service in the country for several months where internet speeds have reached up to 150Mbps and been paired with a low latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds.
Not only are these kinds of speeds unheard of in Rwanda, where traditional broadband internet service providers average around 27Mbps according to Broadband Speedchecker, but it will also be a game changer for remote and rural areas of the country that currently have no internet service at all.
The addition of Starlink in Rwanda will also help businesses and companies to become more competitive in a global economy.
“We are confident that the high speed and low latency of the service will greatly benefit both citizens and businesses. We look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the country’s competitiveness in the global digital economy,” said Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation. (via The New Times)
Rwanda is the fourth country to grant SpaceX a license to operate Starlink in Africa, joining Mozambique, Malawi, and of course Nigeria which saw Starlink service launch last month.
