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Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband high-speed, low-latency internet.

On December 7th, 2023, the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Ghana led the attention to alleged sales of Starlink equipment, which are not type-approved in the country. Their operations are also not licensed, so there are a direct violation of Section 3(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2008, Act 775, which states that ‘Except as otherwise provided under this Act a person shall not operate a public electronic communications service or network or provide a voice telephony service without a license granted by the Authority.’

According to 3news.com, Ghana’s Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, took action in response to the internet outages that began on March 14th, 2024. She addressed the issues to the Parliament and announced the government’s intention to license Starlink. This move is part of the government’s strategy to improve internet connectivity and mitigate future disruptions, a significant step in the country’s digital transformation.

Starlink licensed in Kenya, Nigeria, and Mozambique in 2023, and SpaceX is expected to launch its services in Ghana in Q3 2024 – reported by its coverage map.