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Lesotho launches starlink amid US pressure and economic turmoil
- T-Connect Lesotho launched as a licensed reseller of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service amidst economic pressure on Lesotho from the US.
- Mounting economic challenges in Lesotho stem from major US funding cuts to USAID and Pepfar, along with a 50% tariff imposed by the US, leading to job losses and economic difficulties.
- Prime Minister Samuel Matekane's government granted a 10-year operating license to Starlink Lesotho, a subsidiary of SpaceX, despite local opposition, which is seen as an appeasement of the US.
- Starlink officially announced its high-speed internet availability in Lesotho through a statement on X, a social media platform owned by Musk.
- T-Connect Lesotho CEO projects the creation of 10,000 direct and 50,000 indirect jobs with the collaboration of Development Bank of Southern Africa, focusing on AI-powered data centers using Starlink technology.
- The Lesotho data center, to be built in the mountains, is expected to be unique and one of only four in the world powered by Starlink.
- Community internet hotspots powered by Starlink, with unlimited data access for a low cost, are planned to be deployed across all ten districts in Lesotho.
- T-Connect leverages the experience of its chairperson Nolo Letele, known for expanding MultiChoice and DStv across Africa, to ensure coverage expansion in Lesotho.
- Starlink installations in remote schools in Lesotho aim to provide internet access to previously unreachable areas.
- DBSA sponsors the project in Southern Africa and supports Starlink expansion in multiple countries.
- Lesotho officials see Starlink as a solution to unstable connectivity in both rural and urban areas and a means to reduce service costs in the country.
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