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By Victoria Fakiya
Lagos, Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea is now officially on Starlink’s African map. The satellite Internet service went live in the country on August 29, 2026, after Starlink and Elon Musk confirmed its availability, and residents can place orders through Starlink’s website.
That makes Equatorial Guinea the 30th African country where Starlink is available, adding another market to the company’s rapid expansion across the continent.
But there’s an important catch: this isn’t yet a straightforward, permanent market entry. On July 29, 2026, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue granted Starlink provisional approval, exactly a month before the service went live.
The state-owned GITGE is now overseeing the rollout and will assess Starlink’s operations before deciding what long-term regulatory conditions should apply. So for now, Starlink is effectively operating on a trial basis, and the rules could still change.
That cautious approach has some history behind it. Starlink’s engagement with Equatorial Guinea dates back to at least March 2026, when the service was being considered largely as backup connectivity around a papal visit in April.
Under an earlier regulatory framework, Starlink access was largely restricted to the oil and gas industry and other strategic infrastructure, while ordinary consumers needed government approval.
The fact that a consumer order page is now live suggests the government is testing whether Starlink can have a wider role. Still, GITGE’s review will determine what happens beyond the current provisional period.
The timing also matters because Equatorial Guinea has a relatively small but still significant connectivity gap. The country had about 1.18 million Internet users at the end of 2025, representing roughly 60.4% internet penetration.
For communities where extending fibre or mobile infrastructure is difficult or expensive, Starlink’s low-Earth-orbit satellites offer a way to get broadband without waiting for traditional infrastructure to reach them.
The challenge, of course, is affordability: Starlink may improve availability, but that doesn’t automatically mean most households can afford the hardware and monthly subscription.
And this is part of a much bigger Starlink push across Africa. As of June 2026, the company had reached 26 African markets, with around 300,000 subscribers across the continent, and by July it was commercially available in 28 markets.
Its rapid growth has even started creating capacity constraints in some countries, where demand has outpaced available network capacity. Now, with Equatorial Guinea becoming its 30th African market.
The more interesting question isn’t whether Starlink can keep expanding but how governments will regulate it, how affordable the service will be, and whether satellite broadband can actually close Africa’s stubborn connectivity gaps.
