Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the space company, has announced a partnership with African e-commerce company Jumia to expand broadband internet in Africa.
Details
Jumia will sell Starlink satellite terminals in eleven select African nations, beginning with Nigeria in the next few weeks.
In January, Nigeria became the first African country to receive Starlink services.
Why This Matters
Starlink has been expanding its services across Africa. This year, it launched its services in Nigeria as well as Kenya, Malawi, and Rwanda.
SpaceX does not directly connect its satellites to handsets. Instead, it uses small flat user terminals, which have phased array antennas to track the satellites. The terminals are portable and can be placed anywhere in view of the sky.
By The Numbers
Starlink currently has over 5,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, which provide internet coverage to areas that were previously unconnected.
Source: Bloomberg
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