Starlink finally gets regulatory approval in Ghana

Starlink finally gets regulatory approval in Ghana.

Ghana’s telecoms industry regulator, the National Communications Authority (NCA) has finally given Space X’s Starlink regulatory approval to offer Satellite Broadband Services in Ghana.

A statement from the NCA said the approval comes after the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization gave the greenlight to a new policy dubbed the Satellite Licensing Framework in Ghana.

Meanwhile, the administrative processes towards a full license for Starlink are still ongoing and will be completed shortly.

Starlink broadband has been active in Ghana for a while now without regulatory approval. Months ago, the NCA declared the sale and usage of Starlink starter pack and services in Ghana illegal since they did not have a license to operate.

The NCA has since been engaging Starlink to ensure that all the due processes are followed for a proper license.

Following the recent widespread internet outage in Ghana due to a major disruption on four subsea cables, the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful announced that processes were being expedited to license Starlink so they would bring their satellite technology onboard to serve as an alternative to the fibre-based and microwave-based broadband services.

Ahead of that announcement, the Minister had hinted during a forum in Dubai that Ghana was mulling the idea of licensing space technology companies like Space X and others to operate in the country like the telcos do.

She said the ministry had put a team of experts together to draft a proposed framework that will form the basis of such a license. That exercise is what culminated in the Satellite Licensing Framework, which made room for Starlink to finally get approval in Ghana.

Ahead of Starlink getting approval in Ghana, telecoms market leader, MTN Ghana had already hinted it saw Starlink as a partner rather than a competitor, saying that it is too early for Starlink to compete with entities that already have the infrastructure it will need to go nationwide faster.

Meanwhile, industry analyst maintain that, if Starlink reaches the point where it is ready to pursue a data democratization policy, it will be a really tough customer for the telcos and ISPs in Ghana.