South Africa is not among the 37 African countries where SpaceX’s Starlink aims to roll out in the next two years. The World Bank has estimated that only 29% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to the Internet in 2020. Starlink’s promise of high-speed and low-latency connectivity could provide a big boost to Africa’s economic activity. The earliest the first African countries are expected to get Starlink now is in the second quarter of 2023. Overall, there are 22 officially-recognised African countries where Starlink aims to roll out in the coming year, when including Somaliland. Another disputed territory where Starlink is set to become available in 2023 is Western Sahara. Three of South Africa’s neighbours are set to get the service this year — Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. A further 15 countries are slated to get the service in 2024, including two more of South Africa’s neighbours — Botswana and Namibia. South Africa counts among 18 countries where no information on a rollout date is available yet, with the ETA showing “Unknown”.
SOURCE: MY BROADBAND