Starlink announces service disconnection for users in Ghana, South Africa, and Botswana

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, has officially communicated with its roaming clients via email to announce a crucial update regarding its service accessibility. The notice clarifies that Starlink’s services can only be lawfully utilized within those territories where the company has obtained authorization to conduct its operations.

By the conclusion of April 2024, Starlink intends to sever connections with any user—be it individual customers or businesses—actively using their service in regions of Africa where the company lacks the necessary authorization to operate. This decision will affect users in countries such as Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, where the service is currently being used without proper licensing.

Conversely, subscribers residing in countries where Starlink has secured the requisite permissions, like Mozambique, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria, will not experience any disruption. These customers are free to continue using their Starlink kits under the newly implemented guidelines.

The implication of this policy change is significant as it will impact thousands of users across the African continent who depend on Starlink for internet connectivity. Many of these users have turned to Starlink as a reliable source of internet that, in some locales, offers speedier and more cost-efficient options compared to traditional internet service providers.

The availability issues stem from users in countries where Starlink is not yet licensed, taking an unconventional approach by importing the kits from neighboring nations where the service is approved. They then proceed to operate the Starlink service by roaming, despite this practice being against the service’s policies and local regulations. The upcoming enforcement of this policy by Starlink is set to change this dynamic by the specified date of April 2024.

In a detailed explanatory email, Starlink outlined the intended use of its satellite internet services, emphasizing that the roaming options it offers were designed for customers who are travelling and require temporary internet access, not for ongoing use in locations where Starlink is not officially authorized to operate.

The internet provider highlighted that the use of a Starlink kit in unauthorized areas constitutes a violation of the company’s Terms & Conditions. Starlink made it clear that after the deadline in April 2024, subscribers must not utilize the roaming service for an extended period—defined as more than two months—outside of the countries where service initiation and ordering are sanctioned. Customers are expected to either return to their home location or adjust their account to reflect their current country of use. Should the users fail to comply with these options, the company will enforce restrictions on their service.

Starlink has indicated that to maintain uninterrupted service, users with roaming plans must access the internet from within the registered country on their account at least once every two months. Despite this stipulation having been in place, there have been indicators that these conditions were not rigorously enforced for over a year. It is yet to be seen how stringently the company will implement this rule moving forward.

Users situated in non-supported territories, attempting to circumvent this rule, may resort to temporary transportation of their kits to adjacent countries where Starlink is officially authorized, in order to maintain the required bi-monthly service connection. However, there is uncertainty regarding the viability of this workaround, as the company’s recent communication leaves ambiguity about the availability of roaming services in non-licensed countries.

Moreover, Starlink retains the ability to discontinue its service in any country, guided by its policies and at the behest of national communication authorities. This has already been observed in cases such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, where service was terminated following requests from local communication regulators.

Consequently, users in these and similar territories could potentially face a loss of service if they cannot comply with Starlink’s stipulated conditions or if regulatory interventions arise. As of the information provided and up to the current knowledge cutoff date, there are no explicit reports or public disclosures confirming that regulators