Mateusz Kaczmarek, Author at TechStock²

Cambodia’s Internet Boom or Digital Doom? Inside the Kingdom’s Connected Revolution

Cambodia has over 22 million cellular subscriptions in a population of about 17 million, yielding a mobile penetration of roughly 131.5% due to multiple SIM ownership. As of early 2023, fixed internet subscriptions were about 310,000 nationwide, underscoring a mobile-first connectivity pattern. Cambodia’s first submarine cable, the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand link, landed in 2017, and a Hong Kong–Sihanoukville upgrade planned for 2024 will add 640 km of undersea fiber within Cambodian territory. The core backbone is operated by Telecom Cambodia, Viettel/Metfone, and CFOCN, with 38 licensed ISPs and five fiber-infrastructure operators reported in 2023. In early 2023 about 11.37 million Cambodians were

3 June 2025

Why Starlink Keeps Hitting Red Tape Around the World

In May 2023 the U.S. FCC sided with Starlink over proposed uses of the 12.2–12.7 GHz band, preserving it for satellite services and preventing two-way 5G interference. In August 2022 the FCC denied Starlink’s $885 million Rural Digital Opportunity Fund subsidy due to performance concerns and high equipment costs, including a roughly $600 dish. By late 2024 Starlink had deployed about 7,000 satellites and controlled nearly two-thirds of all active satellites in orbit, signaling its regulatory and market prominence. France’s Conseil d’État annulled Arcep’s Starlink frequency license in April 2022 for lack of a required public consultation, leading to a

3 June 2025

Global Policy · Internet · NYSE:BHARTIARTL · Regulation · Satellites · Starlink

No Signal? No Problem – Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell Satellites Are Eliminating Dead Zones

August 2022: SpaceX and T-Mobile announced a partnership to provide direct-to-cell connectivity via Starlink satellites, with texting expected in 2023–24 and voice/data thereafter. January 2024: SpaceX achieved the first SMS directly via satellite, enabling a two-way text conversation between ordinary smartphones relayed entirely through space after the first batch of D2C-equipped satellites launched. Gen2 Starlink satellites carry the Direct-to-Cell payload, and the smaller V2 Mini satellites launched on Falcon 9 in 2023–24 were equipped to support these tests. By late 2024, more than 400 Starlink satellites had Direct-to-Cell capability, enabling voice calls, video calls, and IoT tests such as Cat-1

3 June 2025

Connectivity · Innovation · Mobile Technology · Satellites · Starlink

Starlink’s Sky Grab: How SpaceX Is Quietly Rewiring the Global Internet Game

Starlink launched its first batch of 60 satellites in 2019, and by late 2024 the constellation numbered nearly 7,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. In 2022 Starlink introduced laser inter-satellite links, enabling data to hop between satellites and extending coverage to oceans, polar regions, and remote locales. By mid-2023 Starlink declared global coverage aside from regulatory holdouts, with service reaching Arctic areas and mid-ocean shipping lanes. By early 2024 Starlink was legally available in about 70 countries. Starlink’s user base grew from 1 million by end-2022 to over 4.6 million by end-2024, with more than 5 million users expected by early

3 June 2025

Global Connectivity · Internet · Satellites · SpaceX · Starlink

Inside Burundi’s Digital Struggle: The Truth About Internet Access and the Satellite Solution

As of January 2025, Burundi had about 1.78 million internet users, roughly 12.5% of ~14 million people, leaving about 88–90% offline. About 99.6% of internet subscriptions are mobile broadband, while fixed broadband is virtually nonexistent with ~0.3% of homes wired and only about 3,000 fixed broadband subscriptions in 2023. 4G coverage reached about 32% of the population in 2023, 3G about 53%, while 2G covers around 97%, leaving many rural areas without true internet. The rural population accounts for about 84% of Burundians, and the government’s Universal Service Fund is rolling out 4G to 178 rural communities, aiming to reach

2 June 2025

Africa · Digital Access · Internet · Satellites · Technology

The Shocking Truth About Internet Access in Burkina Faso – From White Zones to Starlink Dreams

As of 2023, internet penetration in Burkina Faso is about 20%, with roughly 4.7 million active internet users in a 23 million population. By late 2023 there were about 17 million mobile internet subscriptions, offering ~77% potential coverage though many subscribers are not active. Fixed broadband remains extremely limited, with about 85,000 active fixed internet subscriptions in Q3 2023, up 140% from 2022. There is a pronounced urban–rural gap: 3G reaches about 64% of the country and 4G/LTE about 46%, 85% have basic mobile signal, 15% have no signal, 1,700 white zones were identified in 2022, of which only 183

2 June 2025

Burkina Faso · Connectivity · Digital Divide · Internet · Starlink

Everything You Need to Know About Internet Access in Bulgaria (Even the Satellites!)

By 2021, about 65% of fixed broadband subscribers in Bulgaria were on fiber, with gigabit speeds available and Vivacom launching a 10 Gbps fiber service. 5G was launched commercially in 2020, with A1 Bulgaria and Vivacom turning on 5G in 2020 and by the end of 2022 around 70% of the population expected to have 5G coverage. Starlink entered Bulgaria in February 2022, and as of 2025 Neterra is an authorized Starlink reseller offering hardware and support, with typical speeds over 100 Mbps down and 40–60 ms latency at around €60 per month plus a €300 equipment kit. Vivacom holds

2 June 2025

Access · Bulgaria · Digital Divide · Internet · Satellites

You Won’t Believe Brunei’s Internet: 5G Everywhere, 100 Mbps for All – Even Satellites Are Joining

In 2019 Brunei created Unified National Networks (UNN), a wholesale network consolidating fixed, mobile, and submarine infrastructure for DST, imagine, and Progresif. In June 2023 Brunei officially launched nationwide 5G with about 90% of the population covered. A Fixed Broadband Uplift Program raised the baseline fixed broadband speed to 100 Mbps for all subscribers and tested 1 Gbps in a pilot. The three retail ISPs are Datastream Digital (DST), imagine, and Progresif, all reselling capacity via UNN. Brunei’s international connectivity is governed by three submarine cables—SEA-ME-WE3, the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), and the Southeast Asia-Japan Cable (SJC)—all under UNN. About 99%

2 June 2025

5G · Brunei · High Speed · Internet · Satellites

Botswana’s Digital Leap: How Satellites and Smartphones Are Redefining Internet Access in the Kalahari

As of early 2024, about 2.09 million Batswana were internet users, representing roughly 77.3% of the population. Cellular penetration is around 185%, with mobile internet subscriptions at 2.93 million and fixed-line subscriptions at 164,000. Orange Botswana launched Africa’s first 5G network in 2022, initially covering about 30% of the population. SpaceX’s Starlink entered Botswana in August 2024 after BOCRA approved the license in May 2024, with Paratus Botswana becoming the first authorized Starlink reseller. BoFiNet operates the national fiber backbone and buys capacity from submarine cables like WACS and EASSy, becoming the largest provider of Botswana’s international bandwidth; as of

2 June 2025

Botswana · Internet · Kalahari · NYSE:ORAN · Satellites · Smartphones

Bosnia’s Internet in 2025: Surprising Growth Amid Shocking Gaps in Connectivity

As of 2025, about 83% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s population uses the Internet. 4G/LTE networks reach roughly 94% of the population, served by BH Telecom (BH Mobile), M:tel, and HT Eronet. 5G is not commercially deployed in 2025, with authorities predicting spectrum auctions may occur in 2025–2026 after regulatory delays. Fixed broadband shares (2023) are DSL around 50.1%, Cable about 29.8%, Fiber (FTTx) about 12.6%, Fixed Wireless about 7.2%, and Leased lines about 0.2%. FTTH fiber coverage reaches less than 10% of households, one of the lowest fiber coverage rates in Europe. Starlink is set to enter Bosnia in 2025,

2 June 2025

Bosnia · Connectivity · Digital Divide · Internet · Technology

The Internet Frontier: How Bolivia Is Connecting from the Peaks to the Stars

TKSat-1, launched in 2013 as a $300 million geostationary satellite with China’s help, enabled rural internet, backhaul for mobile towers, and community telecenters with latency around 600 ms. Plans for Túpac Katari 2 with substantially higher throughput were discussed, but a second satellite had not materialized by 2025. In August 2024 Bolivia banned unlicensed Starlink terminals, yet by early 2025 an estimated 10,000 Starlink kits were in use on the gray market, often roaming from Peru, with about $50/month and $500 equipment. The El Alto national data center opened in February 2025, a $52 million Tier III facility owned by

1 June 2025

Bolivia · Connectivity · Innovation · Internet · Technology

Internet Access in Bhutan: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Outlook

Starlink officially launched in Bhutan in December 2024 and was operational by February 2025, with Residential Lite at Nu 3,000 per month (about 23–100 Mbps) and Standard at Nu 4,200 per month (about 25–110 Mbps), plus a one-time Nu 33,000 dish kit. Bhutan began 5G rollout with a soft launch in late 2021, and by 2023 5G coverage reached 18 of 20 dzongkhags, with BT reporting about 756 active 5G users and TashiCell over 500, and there is no extra tariff for 5G. A national fiber backbone connects all 20 dzongkhags, and by 2016 fiber links reached 196 of 205

1 June 2025

Bhutan · Digital Challenges · Future · Internet · Technology