South Africa’s mobile operator Vodacom said it will begin using Elon Musk’s Starlink to improve its service coverage throughout the continent.
The partnership could deepen Starlink’s presence as a major African internet service provider, and follows a similar move by Airtel and operators in DR Congo to work closely with the US company.
Vodacom plans to integrate Starlink’s low-earth orbit satellite technology into its mobile network to expand its coverage and raise performance in rural areas, where it can be trickier to erect traditional towers. The company will also be authorized to resell Starlink kits wherever it operates, though Starlink has not received approval from South African regulators.
Starlink has spread to about two dozen African countries in the last two years, including DR Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, and Mozambique, nations where Vodacom also operates. Starlink’s technology “will help bridge the digital divide where traditional infrastructure is not feasible,” Vodacom Group’s CEO Shameel Joosub said.