Page 96 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Starlink Launches Satellite Internet Service in Chad to Boost Connectivity

Starlink has begun operations in Chad after completing the
licensing process and updating its availability map to include the
Central African nation. The company announced the launch on X.
The post read: “Starlink’s high-speed internet is now available in
Chad, marking the 24th country, territory or market in Africa where
Starlink is available.” Chad granted Starlink an operating license
in November 2023, paving the way for the rollout of its low-Earth
orbit satellite service in a country where internet connectivity
remains extremely limited. Starlink’s expansion into Chad is part of
a broader effort to address low internet penetration across Africa,
where only 40% of the continent’s 1.3bn residents are online—
the lowest rate in the world. The service has already launched in
multiple countries, including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
Malawi, Madagascar, Benin, South Sudan, Eswatini and Sierra
Leone. In 2025, Starlink secured operating licenses in Somalia
and Lesotho and went live in Liberia and Niger. Despite this rapid
growth, Starlink continues to encounter regulatory hurdles in some
markets. In South Africa, the continent’s most developed economy,
the service remains unavailable due to outstanding licensing and
compliance challenges.

Starlink Becomes the Third Satellite Communications Operator with Full

Regulatory Clearance to Operate in the Indian Market

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s Satellite secured its authorization in March 2022. However, both
SpaceX, has received final approval from the Indian National companies waited nearly two years before receiving the final
Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), to begin permit from India’s space regulator, which finally approved their
offering broadband services in the country, according to local operations in November 2023 and June 2024, respectively. India
press reports. With this approval, Starlink becomes the third has implemented stringent operational requirements for satellite
satellite communications operator, after Eutelsat OneWeb and the communications, including legal interception capabilities. Service
Reliance Jio–SES joint venture, to obtain all required regulatory providers are also barred from linking customer data or services to
clearances to operate in the Indian market. Last month, Starlink infrastructure located outside the country and are prohibited from
had secured a global mobile personal communication by satellite processing user data beyond national borders.
(GMPCS) license, a key step toward launching services. The report
noted that the company’s Gen 1 low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation
includes 4,408 satellites with a total capacity of 600 Gbps
across India. Despite the approval, Starlink cannot immediately
begin full commercial operations as it still needs to acquire trial
spectrum and meet national security compliance conditions set
by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). These steps
are mandatory before any commercial service can begin. Eutelsat
OneWeb and Jio-SES had obtained trial spectrum in 2024 and
were granted six-month extensions as they await final security
clearances. Starlink is also expected to receive trial spectrum
shortly, according to the report. The DoT is working on spectrum
pricing and allocation guidelines based on recommendations
from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI has
suggested a model based on administrative allocation with a
4% fee on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for five years. Eutelsat
OneWeb received its GMPCS license in August 2021, while Jio

96 JUNE-JULY 2025