Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced on Tuesday that he had held a “productive meeting” with representatives from Starlink, the satellite internet service under tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as the company seeks to enter the East African market.
Starlink, which has been expanding rapidly across Africa, is already operational in more than a dozen countries and was granted licenses earlier this month by Somalia and Lesotho.
“I appreciate their commitment to providing affordable internet in remote areas and their interest in establishing a presence in Uganda. They are welcome,” Museveni said on X.
Ugandan consumers have long expressed dissatisfaction with the high costs and unreliable service of local internet providers, which many attribute to limited market competition.
It remains unclear whether Starlink has formally applied for a license to operate in Uganda, as a spokesperson for the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) did not respond to a request for comment.
In Uganda’s data market, South African telecom giant MTN dominates, with India’s Bharti Airtel being its primary competitor.