Starlink gets licence in Liberia, this is coming after the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) signed a one-year licencing agreement with Starlink to increase high-speed Internet access throughout Liberia, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
The provisional licence will allow LTA to assess Starlink’s services over the next year, setting quality standards and ensuring consumer protection as the technology is rolled out.
Abdullah Kamara, Acting Chairperson of the LTA, confirmed that Starlink’s official service will be available in the first week of November, although some individuals are already offering the service illegally across the country. He urged citizens to engage their ISPs to verify they are authorised resellers.
This comes nearly three months after Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., held a virtual meeting with Elon Musk, CEO of Starlink, to discuss the potential launch of the satellite Internet service provider in the country.
The outcome of the invite
Then, Boakai invited the SpaceX founder and his team to visit the country, affirming his administration’s commitment to ongoing engagement and collaboration.
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While Kamara acknowledged that the country is making universal Internet access a reality for the first time, he noted that this agreement will allow Starlink to deliver high-speed Internet to every village, town, and community, no matter how remote.
Kamara pointed out that Internet coverage in Liberia is currently around 60%, and the government’s goal is to push that number as close to 100% by leveraging Starlin. Meanwhile, at the start of 2024, the country’s Internet penetration stood at 30.1% with 1.65 million Internet users.
Furthermore, the agreement addresses outage concerns about Liberia’s existing Internet infrastructure, specifically the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) fibre optic cable, regarded as the backbone of the country’s current Internet services. Kamara stated that with Starlink as a backup, the country will not face the same level of disruption if the ACE cable goes down.
The authority urges Starlink to work with local Internet providers to ensure the initiative’s economic benefits are shared with Liberians. The services will benefit major institutions across the country, such as hospitals, schools, government offices, town halls, and clinics.
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