Vodacom partners with Starlink to expand rural connectivity across Africa

Vodacom is taking its network far beyond the reach of land cables, straight into orbit. The South African mobile giant has on Wednesday partnered with Elon Musk’s Starlink to deliver satellite-powered broadband across Africa, targeting the rural and hard-to-reach areas that regular towers can’t touch. This deal, according to an emailed statement from both companies, is meant to close Africa’s digital divide faster than ground infrastructure ever could. The plan will make Vodacom the first major African telecom to combine its mobile network with Starlink’s satellite internet service, which already operates in 25 African countries, according to data from SpaceX. Vodacom is facing regulatory limits and finding workarounds in South Africa The Vodacom-Starlink collab comes with some fine print though, as Elon is desperately avoiding South Africa’s strict 30% Black-ownership rule by working through Vodacom instead of trying to own infrastructure in the country. The South African government is weighing...

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/vodacom-puts-starlink-services-across-africa/