SpaceX recently completed the largest IPO in history, and the prospectus confirmed that Starlink, its satellite broadband arm, generates the group's profits. Subsequently, South Africa, which has kept Starlink out over local ownership rules, launched a state-backed satellite company of its own. The two developments frame the same market from opposite sides. Satellite broadband in low Earth orbit (LEO) offers the continent a route past a connectivity deficit that continues to constrain growth. It also rests on terms that a growing number of African regulators are unwilling to accept without competition and a degree of control.
Why Orbit Is Cheaper Than Trenching
Africa carries the widest connectivity gap in the world. Mobile technologies contributed $240bn to African economies in 2025, some 7.8% of regional GDP that year, yet almost one billion people, 63% of the population, live within reach of a mobile broadband signal and do not use it. On the other hand, smaller and largely rural population sit outside of coverage altogether. Satellites in low Earth orbit change what it costs to reach them. Orbiting at between 500 and 1,200km against the 36,000 km of geostationary systems, they cut latency to a level that supports video conferencing, online learning, and telemedicine, and they cover a village or a mine without the long period of exploration or a new tower.