Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced on Tuesday that he held a “productive meeting” with representatives from Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, as it explores potential entry into the East African market.
Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, is swiftly expanding its services across Africa and is currently active in over a dozen countries. Earlier this month, it secured operating licenses in Somalia and Lesotho.
“I appreciate their commitment to providing low-cost internet in hard-to-reach areas and establishing a presence in Uganda. They are welcome,” Museveni said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Ugandan internet users have long expressed frustration over high costs and poor service quality, often citing limited competition in the telecom sector as a root cause.
It remains unclear whether Starlink has officially submitted a license application to Uganda’s regulatory body, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), which has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Uganda’s data market is currently dominated by a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, with India’s Bharti Airtel unit as its main competitor.