Africa

Beyond Starlink: Inside the New Space Race for Satellite Internet Dominance in 2025

Vodacom Strikes Starlink Deal to Accelerate African Broadband Rollout

South Africa’s largest mobile operator will integrate Starlink’s low‑Earth‑orbit capacity into its network and resell the satellite service where licensed, targeting faster connectivity and better rural coverage across the continent. Published: November 12, 2025 Vodacom Group has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s Starlink to bring high‑speed, low‑latency internet to businesses across Africa, marking one of the highest‑profile tie‑ups yet between a major African carrier and a satellite provider. Vodacom said it will fold Starlink’s technology into its mobile network and is authorized to resell Starlink equipment and services to customers in African markets. Reuters What’s in the deal The

12 November 2025

Internet Access in Togo: Surprising Stats and the Race to Connect a Nation

Overview of Internet Access in Togo Togo is a small West African nation making significant strides in digital connectivity. Internet usage has grown steadily over the past decade. By January 2024, 3.44 million Togolese were Internet users, about 37.6% of the population datareportal.com. This marks a substantial increase from just a few years prior (for example, in 2016, usage was roughly half of today’s level blog.google). Still, it means nearly 6 million people (62%) remain offline datareportal.com, indicating plenty of room for growth. The majority of non-users are in rural and low-income segments, constrained by coverage gaps, costs, and digital

6 September 2025

Africa · Connectivity · Digital Development · Internet Access · Togo

Mali’s Internet Revolution: Surprising Facts & Bold Plans for a Digital Future

Introduction Mali, a large landlocked nation in West Africa, is undergoing a digital transformation against challenging odds. Internet access has grown from almost zero at the turn of the century to reaching roughly a third of the population today extensia.tech. This expansion is driven primarily by mobile phones, as fixed broadband infrastructure is scarce developingtelecoms.com. However, millions of Malians – especially in rural and conflict-prone areas – remain offline, highlighting a significant digital divide. In this report, we delve into the state of internet access in Mali, covering how people get online, who provides the service, the hurdles faced in

2 September 2025

Africa · Digital Future · Internet Access · Mali · NYSE:ORAN · Technology

Uganda’s Internet Access Revolution: From Digital Divide to Digital Drive in 2025

Introduction Uganda’s internet landscape is a mix of rapid growth and persistent gaps. Over the past decade, the country has seen a boom in mobile phone usage and internet services, yet a majority of Ugandans remain offline due to infrastructure shortfalls, high costs, and socio-economic barriers. This report provides an in-depth look at the state of internet access in Uganda as of 2024–2025, covering penetration rates, service types (mobile, broadband, satellite), key providers, infrastructure developments, government policies, inclusion challenges, and the future outlook. All statistics are the most recent available – many from 2024 or early 2025 – to give

28 August 2025

Africa · Digital Divide · Internet · Technology · Uganda

Mauritania’s Internet Revolution: What You Need to Know About Satellite, Speed, and Access in 2025

As of early 2025, about 1.96 million Mauritanians were internet users, roughly 37% of the population. Under the National Digital Transformation Agenda 2022–2025, Mauritania planned to add 4,000 km of fiber backbone by 2025, and by mid-2024 had deployed about 5,500 km with another 2,300 km planned. ACE, landing in Nouakchott since 2012, was the country’s sole international link until 2025, when Mauritania contracted with EllaLink in July 2025 to extend a transatlantic cable with a 500 km Nouadhibou branch, with service due by early 2027. May 2025 marked the launch of Mauritania’s first national Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and

25 August 2025

Africa · Connectivity · Internet · NYSE:MAT · Technology · Telecommunications

The Gambia’s Internet Revolution: How Fiber, 5G, and Satellite Broadband Are Connecting a Nation

The Gambia has used the ACE submarine fiber-optic cable since 2011, but a 2022 ACE outage knocked the country offline for over eight hours and backup links via Senegal failed, prompting plans for a second submarine cable landing in Banjul under the World Bank-funded Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP). Gamtel launched the National Broadband Network (NBN) backbone in 2019 with Huawei’s support to extend high-speed links across the country. An Internet Exchange Point (IXP) was established in 2014 to localize Gambian internet traffic, though its impact has been muted so far. QCell launched the country’s first 5G service

20 August 2025

Africa · Connectivity · Internet · Technology · Telecommunications

From Sand to Signal: The Shocking Reality of Internet Access in the Sahara

The Sahara spans about 9 million square kilometers (3.6 million square miles) across North Africa and covers ten countries: Algeria, Mali, Niger, Chad, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. A Trans-Saharan Fiber Backbone is under development to connect Algeria, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Tunisia along the Trans-Saharan Highway, tying inland towns to multiple submarine cable gateways, with Chad’s 559 km link from N’Djamena toward the Niger border nearly finished by late 2024. Chad obtained its first international fiber link in 2012 and today still has no nationwide fiber backbone connecting its towns. Only about 10–12% of Chadians have

18 August 2025

Africa · Digital Divide · Infrastructure · Internet · NYSE:ORAN · Technology

Inside Madagascar’s Internet Revolution: From Mobile Networks to Starlink Skies

Madagascar is connected to four major submarine cables—EASSy, LION/LION2, METISS, and 2Africa—with the 2Africa landing at Mahajanga in February 2023 and becoming operational in late 2023. Fixed broadband penetration is extremely low, at about 0.11 per 100 people in 2023, forcing most of the population to rely on mobile networks. Market shares are Telma about 50%, Orange about 30%, Airtel about 7%, Blueline’s bip about 2%, and SpaceX Starlink around 10% of Madagascar’s internet market as of 2024–2025. 4G coverage reaches roughly 71% of the population, while overall mobile signal availability sits around 92%. Madagascar experimented with 5G early on:

1 August 2025

Africa · Innovation · Internet · Starlink · Technology

Connecting São Tomé and Príncipe: Internet Access in 2025 – Infrastructure, Challenges, and Opportunities

As of January 2025, internet penetration stands at 61.5% of the population (about 146,000 online) with around 170,000 active mobile connections. The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable landed in São Tomé in 2012–2013, with its final southern segment completed in 2021, increasing international bandwidth from about 50 Mbps to over 4,500 Mbps. CST accounts for about 95% of internet subscriptions, and Unitel STP entered the market in 2014 after a unified license granted in 2013 for $1.62 million. Unitel STP launched the first 4G LTE service in May 2023, and by 2025 4G is available in the capital

29 July 2025

Africa · Connectivity · Development · Infrastructure · Internet · NYSE:ORAN

The Digital Desert Awakens: Inside Tunisia’s Expanding Internet Frontier

As of early 2024, about 9.96 million Tunisians were internet users, roughly 79.6% of the population. In January 2024, Tunisia had 16.73 million active mobile connections, equal to 133.7% of the population. 99.9% of the population is covered by mobile signals, with 4G reaching about 94.9% of inhabitants. Tunisie Telecom’s fiber backbone spans roughly 50,000 km, and late-2024 initiatives connected 2,900 homes in Tataouine (~7,000 users) via fiber at about $160,000. International bandwidth capacity grew from 82.5 Gbps in 2012 to about 1,710 Gbps in 2023. 5G licensing occurred in September 2024, initial licenses were granted in November 2024, and

24 June 2025

Africa · Digital Transformation · Internet · NYSE:ORAN · Technology · Tunisia

The Digital Desert: Inside Equatorial Guinea’s Struggle for Internet Access

Equatorial Guinea is described as a digital desert due to the internet’s high cost, slow speeds, and limited availability. Internet access began in 1997 via a France-backed connection, and by 2010 only about 2% of the population were internet users. GETESA, the state-dominated operator, held about 60% ownership with Orange S.A. around 40%, and controlled international gateways via GITGE. HiTs Telecom launched Green Com (Muni) around 2011, and GECOMSA was created in 2012 to expand competition. Equatorial Guinea connected to the ACE submarine cable in 2012, and domestic Ceiba-1 and Ceiba-2 cables linked the mainland Rio Muni with Bioko. Internet

12 June 2025

Africa · Digital Divide · Human Rights · Internet Access · NYSE:ORAN · Telecommunications

No Signal: The Shocking Digital Divide in the DRC and the Race to Connect Millions

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a population of over 100 million, but only about 27% were using the internet in early 2024, leaving roughly 75 million offline. <li Internet users rose from 1.4 million in 2013 to 28.9 million in 2023, with mobile internet subscribers jumping about 40% over three years. <li As of 2025, only 9,361 km of fiber has been laid, far short of the 50,000 km target in Horizon 2025, covering about 19% of the plan. <li The DRC’s four major mobile operators—Vodacom, Airtel, Orange, and Africell—dominate the market, with 3G/4G in major cities and

7 June 2025

Africa · Connectivity · Digital Divide · Internet Access · Technology

Africa News 7 June 2025 - 12 November 2025