24 November 2023

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service has launched in Benin, making it the seventh African country where the company is offering its service.

Benin consumers will pay 30,000 West African CFA francs monthly, with a one-time equipment cost of CFA400,000 and shipping and handling fees of CFA15,000.

Additionally, users in Benin will also need to pay CFA3,125 per month to the regulator Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) to access the spectrum necessary for service provision. Starlink offers a 30-day trial with no contracts or data caps and said shipping times are currently estimated to be two to three weeks.

Benin now joins the expanding list of African nations that have access to Starlink, including Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia, with more countries expected to join the list in due course. According to Starlink, 20 countries including Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, and Egypt have planned launches in 2024. South Africa, Ethiopia, Algeria, Mali, and Sudan still have unconfirmed launch dates.