Starlink officially launched operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a major advance in filling the deep digital fracture of the nation.
The expansion comes after the provider of the Internet satellite received a telecommunications license by the Congolese Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC) on May 2, 2025.
Internet connectivity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is characterized by low penetration rates and unequal access, with significant disparities between urban and rural areas, and between fixed and mobile internet. Although the use of mobile Internet has shown growth in recent years, the country has lagged behind the African average in global connectivity. The fixed internet infrastructure remains limited and the quality of Internet connections, including speeds, can be poor.
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In international comparisons, the DRC ranks relatively low in internet speeds, with an average download speed of 38.45 Mbit / second for the wide strip of fixed network.
At the start of 2025, around 34 million people, or 30.6% of the population, had internet access. Mobile connections have totaled 60.3 million, which is 54.3% of the population, although not all of them include internet access. Mobile internet median speeds are approximately 17.03 Mbps, while large -fixed -strip speeds reach 39.87 Mbps, with significant growth in fixed connection speeds (up 5% compared to 2024).
Remember that in March 2024, military officials of Dr Congo prohibited the star bond, warning that the factions of the rebels could abuse encrypted satellite communications to escape detection. The service was declared illegal and users were threatened with sanctions.
Quick advance until May 2025, the DRC reversed the ban, looking at a 70%connectivity gap. In a press release, the regulatory authority said: “Starlink is now authorized to operate in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a provider of Internet services, following the regularization of its administrative situation.”
Starlink’s expansion in the Central African country should change the situation for rural communities and poorly served distant.
Starlink, operated by SpaceX, provides high speed broadband Internet and low latency via a constellation of low terrestrial orbit (LEO) satellites. Its offers particularly have an impact in poorly served and distant regions, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where traditional internet infrastructures are limited.
The Starlink satellite network, with more than 6,000 satellites from 2025, offers coverage to the most remote regions, bypassing the need for land infrastructure such as fibers or cellular towers. In the DRC, this means that rural regions and affected by conflicts can access the reliable Internet without the logistical challenges of the construction of physical networks.
The launch of Starlink in the DRC marks its 22nd African market, with active services in June 2025. The company also obtained licenses in Somalia, Lesotho and Guinea in 2025, reflecting its aggressive African expansion.
Starlink’s entry pressures are inheritance ISPs like MTN and Airtel to improve the lower services or prices. In markets like Nigeria, where mobile data cost $ 1.56 / GO, Starlink’s lump sum plans (for example, $ 50 / month for unlimited data) have disrupted price models, pushing a story of the competition and the empowerment of consumers compared to monopolistic control.
African governments, initially distrustful of the link due to security or regulatory concerns, kiss him more and more. The DRC license approval reflects an increasing acceptance of the internet by satellite as a national development tool. This changes the account of regulatory resistance to progressive digital policy, positioning Africa as open to global technological partnerships.
Essentially, the African expansion of Starlink rewrites the history of the continent of one of the digital exclusions to inclusion, innovation and global integration, proving that Africa can exploit advanced technology to redefine its future.
In particular, with its latest launch in the DRC, it offers a transformative solution for connectivity in poorly served regions, offering high speed internet, global coverage and friendly equipment.
Its ability to deliver broadband in distant areas without traditional infrastructure changes the situation for education, health care and economic opportunities. However, affordability and power constraints remain obstacles to generalized adoption.
