Eritrea’s Digital Desert: Inside the World’s Most Isolated Internet – and the Satellite Lifeline on the Horizon
About 26% of Eritrea’s 3.7 million people used the internet in early 2024. The state-run EriTel holds a monopoly, with no private ISPs and almost no public mobile data. Fewer than 10 internet cafés operate in Asmara, and nationwide fixed broadband subscriptions remain below 150. Starlink is not licensed, and internet cafés are monitored by security agents.