SpaceX’s Starlink has secured licenses to operate in Botswana and Zimbabwe, with services expected to be fully available in both countries by Q3 2024. Starlink is already operational in Eswatini and Mozambique, with plans to launch in Namibia later in 2024.
Earlier this year, Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe cracked down on unauthorized Starlink usage, targeting those using smuggled kits from neighboring countries. One high-profile case involved Neville Mutsvangwa, the son of prominent politicians, who faced charges for owning and operating a Starlink kit.
Starlink working in Zimbabwe 📡🇿🇼
— Dima Zeniuk (@DimaZeniuk) May 27, 2024
📷 @Ingabes pic.twitter.com/b8yT7080hx
One of the strategic pillars that anchor the 2nd Republic’s developmental agenda under Vision 2030 is innovation, science and technology. Prioritization of the digital economy and the emerging importance of technology in our day to day activities requires Government to lead from… pic.twitter.com/o8icGPMHcM
— President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) May 25, 2024
Following these crackdowns, Botswana and Zimbabwe have now reached agreements with SpaceX. Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi met with Starlink executives during his U.S. visit in late April to early May and expedited SpaceX’s license application process. In Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that IMC Communications would soon start selling Starlink kits.
According to SpaceX’s availability map, Starlink services will be fully operational in Botswana and Zimbabwe by Q3 2024. There are no updates for South Africa and Lesotho, while Eswatini and Mozambique already have operational Starlink services, and Namibia is set to join later this year.
