Uganda's Museveni meets Musk’s Starlink to discuss entry to nation

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Tuesday he had a "productive meeting" with the representatives of tech billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, which is looking to establish a presence in the East African country.

A unit of SpaceX, the satellite internet company is rapidly expanding its services in Africa and is live in more than a dozen countries. It was granted licences by Somalia and Lesotho earlier this month.

"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 on X.

Ugandan consumers have long complained about the high cost and unreliability of domestic internet services, which some blame on the lack of sufficient competition in the market.

It was unclear if Starlink had formally applied for a licence to operate in Uganda. A spokesperson for the sector regulator Uganda Communications Commission did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

A unit of South African telecom giant MTN group is the dominant player in the East African country's data market and chiefly competes with a unit of India's Bharti Airtel.

Reuters