Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Starlink to Begin in Tanzania in Q1 2023

Satellite internet service Starlink will start operations in Tanzania in Q1 2022 according to the information available on the Starlink website.

Starlink is operated by Spacex, an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California.

It was founded in 2002 by billionaire Elon Musk with the stated goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars.

Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more.

Leveraging advanced satellites and user hardware coupled with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations, Starlink claims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world.

Starlink provides internet access to over 500,000 subscribers across 40 countries as of June 2022.

So far Starlink operates in two African countries, namely Nigeria and Mozambique.

Starlink explains that the availability of its services is subject to regulatory approval. The director general of Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Jabiri Bakari recently confirmed to the media that Starlink had indeed made an application to provide services in the country.

Internet in Tanzania

Tanzania estimated internet users reached 29,071,817 in March 2021.  

More than 90% of Tanzanians access the internet through their mobile phones, and although mobile data prices are reasonably low, they remain unaffordable for segments of the population that mostly reside in rural areas, resulting in a large gap in Internet use between urban and rural areas.