Nigeria’s decision to grant Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellite network, Project Kuiper, a seven-year operating license—alongside already-active Starlink—marks a significant milestone for connectivity in Africa’s largest market. Yet a 30-year-old technical provision buried in International Telecommunication Union regulations could limit how much of that investment actually benefits ordinary Africans. The rule, known as Equivalent Power Flux Density limits under Article 22 of the ITU Radio Regulations, caps transmission power in frequencies shared between older geostationary and newer low-Earth orbit satellite systems. Critics argue these limits, designed before modern constellations existed, unnecessarily constrain service quality in a continent where only 36% of people were online as of 2025. With the next opportunity for reform at the World Radiocommunication Conference in Shanghai in October 2027, Africa’s policymakers must come together to support regulatory reforms that could accelerate broadband access for hundreds of millions across the continent.
African Business
