Airtel Africa Partners With SpaceX to Roll Out Starlink Across Continent, But Affordability Concerns Loom

Airtel Africa has entered into a landmark agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to deliver Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet across its 14 African markets, in a bold push to bridge the continent’s long-standing connectivity gap—especially in rural and underserved regions.

The telecoms giant announced that SpaceX’s Starlink has already secured operating licenses in nine of the 14 countries where Airtel operates, with regulatory processes still underway in the remaining five. The partnership, both companies say, will see Starlink’s low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology integrated into Airtel Africa’s infrastructure, extending coverage to schools, health centers, and small businesses in remote communities long left behind by traditional mobile and broadband networks.

Airtel Africa’s CEO, Sunil Taldar, described the deal as a milestone in the company’s ambition to build a digitally inclusive continent.

“Next-generation satellite connectivity will ensure that every individual, business, and community have reliable and affordable voice and data connectivity—even in the most remote parts of Africa,” Taldar said.

SpaceX, on its part, views the collaboration as a strategic advantage that gives it access to Airtel’s extensive on-ground assets across the continent, potentially fast-tracking Starlink’s operational rollout and scale in Africa.

“The team at Airtel has played a pivotal role in Africa’s telecom story, so working with them to complement our direct offering across Africa makes great sense for our business,” said Chad Gibbs, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX.

Celebrated Move, But Affordability is a Major Hurdle

While the partnership has been widely applauded as a potential game-changer for closing Africa’s broadband gap, many have noted that pricing remains a serious concern—especially in regions where people live on modest incomes or below the poverty line.

In Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest telecom market, the current cost of accessing Starlink services is prohibitively high for most households. The standard residential plan costs N75,000 per month (about $42), while the hardware, a kit that includes a satellite dish and router, is priced at N590,000 (around $375). Even more expensive are the roaming plans: regional roaming costs N167,000 per month, while the global roaming plan is priced at a staggering N717,000.

Given that most rural dwellers in Nigeria and across many African countries live on less than $2 a day, the concern is that the technology, while promising in reach, may remain largely inaccessible to those it purports to serve.

The Rural Internet Dilemma

Though Airtel and SpaceX have not released detailed pricing plans specific to the partnership, there is concern about whether the rollout will truly address the affordability gap or simply extend Starlink’s footprint through Airtel’s existing infrastructure.

Across Africa, rural and underserved areas have struggled for decades with poor connectivity due to the high cost of deploying mobile towers and broadband infrastructure in remote or sparsely populated zones. Satellite internet, with its ability to bypass these physical limitations, has long been touted as a viable solution.

But affordability remains a critical sticking point. According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), Africans pay more for internet relative to income than anywhere else in the world. A 1GB mobile data plan can consume up to 8-10% of a user’s monthly income in some African countries, far above the global affordability target of 2%.

Even with efforts by some national governments to offer subsidies or zero-rate basic services, rural connectivity has remained stubbornly low, with millions still offline due to cost barriers.

Competition May Fuel Affordability

The Airtel-SpaceX deal also comes amid intensifying competition in Africa’s connectivity space. Last year, MTN Group disclosed that it was in talks with several satellite service providers, including SpaceX, as part of its broader strategy to extend services to remote communities. The company confirmed enterprise-grade trials with Starlink were ongoing in Nigeria and Rwanda, alongside additional trials with other players like Lynk Global, AST SpaceMobile, and Eutelsat OneWeb in markets like South Africa, Ghana, and South Sudan.

This growing interest in satellite solutions underlines a significant shift in strategy among mobile network operators (MNOs), who previously viewed satellite companies as rivals. But the rising cost of traditional infrastructure deployment and the need to reach new customers in areas with poor ARPU (average revenue per user) have pushed telecom firms to embrace partnerships rather than competition.

However, the involvement of other satellite internet providers is expected to fuel competition – driving down the cost across the continent, especially in rural areas.