Musk's Starlink Approves Africa Chadian Business

Elon Musk-led space company SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink has been granted a business license in Africa Chad, Reuters reports.

"We have been talking to Starlink since 2021 and have been able to agree on key points," communications minister Bukar Michel Chad told Reuters on Wednesday local time.

"Starlink will help bridge the information gap in Chad, where much of the territory is not fiber-optic," he said, adding that improved internet access could digitize public services in remote areas.

According to the latest World Bank (WB) statistics, only 12% of Chad's population of about 17.4 million had access to the internet as of 2022.

Musk also said in a post on his X (X, formerly Twitter) account the day before that "Starlink is now available in Chad."

It is said that SpaceX currently operates nearly 6,000 satellites for communication.

On the African continent, Starlink is also used in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Benin, South Sudan, Eswatini, and Sierra Leone.