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DR Congo is betting on satellite internet to address one of the world’s worst connectivity deficits, with only one in three Congolese connected to mobile internet.
Just three months after approving Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to operate in the country, the government has turned to Monacosat, a Monaco-based satellite operator co-owned by the Turkmenistan government, to launch a dedicated satellite for broadband internet. Last month in Kinshasa, Monacosat’s representative Jean-Philippe Anvam told journalists that a partner bank had “already mobilized up to $400 million” in financing to back the project.
For now the financing structure remains unclear. Last month, Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank signaled interest in supporting the deal. CEO Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe told local reporters the bank is setting up a joint task force with DR Congo’s Ministry of Digital Economy to explore funding mechanisms. She also confirmed plans for Fidelity to open a local subsidiary in Kinshasa, focused on digital projects and financial inclusion.
Starlink, which received regulatory approval to operate in DR Congo in May, is generally seen as too expensive for most Congolese users. It is currently priced around $50 a month with around $200 in equipment costs. Government officials have so far not provided any pricing details of the Monacosat service for consumers.
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DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi instructed his ministers, during a June cabinet meeting, to prioritize satellite connectivity projects — notably Musk’s Starlink and Monacosat — to overcome the high costs and delayed rollout of a planned 50,000-kilometer national fiber backbone under its Digital Horizon 2025 plan, launched in 2019. According to the telecom regulator, as of 2023 less than 10,000 kilometers had been deployed in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country by area.
The Monacosat partnership involves building new satellite infrastructure, not just leasing capacity from the existing MonacoSAT-1 platform. Slides presented to the Congolese government highlighted the coming Monacosat-2 series, each capable of delivering 200 Gbps in internet speeds.
Beyond the satellite itself, the plan envisions ground infrastructure including control and telemetry stations and rural connectivity links, with additional applications for education, health, and onshore industries. It is also aimed at reducing the country’s digital divide “particularly in rural and remote areas where telecommunications infrastructure remains insufficient,” Anvam said.
Step Back
DR Congo, Africa’s fourth most populous nation with over 105 million people, remains one of the least digitally connected. The ambitious national fiber optic plan has repeatedly stalled due to financing and governance gaps, leaving large swaths of the country dependent on mobile operators.
To respond, Kinshasa created a new Ministry of Digital Economy last month, reflecting a political shift that elevates digital transformation alongside traditional telecom oversight. The ministry is tasked with coordinating new projects including Monacosat and Starlink under a fresh legal framework.
Notable
- How Starlink is stitching together a pan-African strategy in small bytes with launches in Nigeria, DR Congo, and other countries.
- Starlink goes live in DR Congo, unlocking new digital horizons for remote communities.