Starlink launches in Congo, now live in 21 African countries

Satellite Internet Provider, Starlink has officially launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), extending its range to 21 African countries. The Central African country became the latest country to grant a license to Starlink following a prior announcement by the Congolese government on Friday.

In an X post on Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced Starlink’s availability in the country: “Starlink available in Congo,” the post reads.

For the Democratic Republic of Congo, Starlink’s entry would be a huge turnaround for its underperforming internet connectivity. According to the International Telecommunication Union, War-torn Congo has low connectivity, and only around 30 per cent of the population has internet access as of 2023.

SpaceX Starlink’s entry into the country will aim to provide fast and reliable internet access in remote and underserved regions. Leveraging a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the company offers broadband internet with impressive speeds and reduced latency compared to traditional satellite services.

Its entry into the market could be a strategic tool in closing this digital divide by spreading internet access across communities and providing quality connectivity when existing telecom services fail.

Also Read: Starlink reviews monthly subscription price to N57,000 from May 30.

The satellite internet provider is rapidly expanding its services in Africa and is now live in 21 countries.  This comes amid its recent launch in Somalia and Lesotho in April, Niger in February. It is also closing in on launching in India following a strategic meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Its entry into Uganda is also imminent after President Yoweri Museveni shared last month that he had a productive meeting with Starlink’s representatives.

The company’s growing footprint represents its accelerated strategy to expand satellite internet access across Africa and other underserved regions globally.

Starlink’s entry into Congo wasn’t easy  

Elon Musk’s satellite offering had a history of rejections in Congo amid fears of its usage for militant operations. In March 2024, the Congolese Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC) said the use of Starlink was banned and violators would face sanctions. This comes after military officials warned that it could be used by rebel groups, including Rwandan-backed M23, which has seized more territory than ever before in the east of the country this year.

The same entity announced on Friday that the company had been given a licence and “will proceed with the launch of its services in the coming days.” However, it’s not clear why DRC has reversed its view, given the strong resistance to a service that military officials feared could be used by rebel groups. 

DRC’s decision might have stemmed from its low range of connectivity, where data placed the country amid African nations with poor internet connectivity. 

A report by Datareportal indicates that there were 34.0 million internet users in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in January 2025 out of a total population of 105.8 million as of 2023. This further means that the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s internet penetration rate stood at 30.6 percent of the total population at the start of the year.

Meanwhile, another analysis indicates that the number of internet users in the DRC increased by 1.1 million (+3.3 per cent) between January 2024 and January 2025.

And for added perspective, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s internet adoption rate (i.e. the percentage of the total population that uses the internet) remained unchanged during the same period. But these user figures also suggest that 77.1 million people in the DRC did not use the internet at the beginning of 2025, suggesting that 69.4 percent of the population remained “offline” at the start of the year.

With its low rate of internet penetration, Starlink stands at the core of its solution, considering its vast internet speed and broadband range.