Starlink and the New Rules of Market Access

Starlink’s second rejection in Namibia signals a broader shift in how African governments are shaping access to their digital markets.

Namibia’s decision to reject Starlink’s licence application for a second time is not really about satellite internet. It’s about the conditions under which global technology companies gain access to African markets.

For years, the assumption was that African governments needed global technology companies more than those companies needed African markets. Regulation often focused on reducing barriers to investment and encouraging international firms to establish a presence.

That relationship appears to be evolving.

Last week, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) upheld its decision to reject Starlink’s licence application, dismissing both the company’s appeal and the 624 public requests asking it to reconsider.
CRAN accepted that Starlink met the technical, financial and competition requirements. The application ultimately failed due to ownership and control requirements, compliance history, and national security considerations.
Namibia’s Communications Act requires telecommunications licence holders to be at least 51% locally owned, unless a ministerial exemption is granted. Starlink remains wholly foreign-owned and did not apply for an exemption. The regulator also noted that its request for reconsideration was submitted after the statutory deadline.

Namibia’s position answers a question governments across Africa are increasingly confronting: on what terms should foreign technology companies be allowed to build part of a country’s digital infrastructure?
The answers vary considerably.

Nigeria became Starlink’s first African market in 2023 under relatively light entry conditions, only to tighten regulatory oversight later when the company announced a 97% price increase without prior approval. Uganda chose a more conditional route, granting a licence only after Starlink agreed to establish a local gateway, maintain a physical office, register user equipment and comply with domestic tax requirements. Somalia, where expanding broadband access remains an urgent priority, approved the service after lengthy negotiations with far lighter publicly documented conditions. Côte d’Ivoire has issued a 12-month provisional licence while operations begin. South Africa, the continent’s largest digital economy, has yet to grant a licence at all, with negotiations centred on whether Starlink is prepared to meet the country’s local ownership requirements.

None of these decisions amounts to a rejection of foreign investment. They reflect different judgments about the conditions attached to market access and different national priorities.

That distinction matters because satellite internet is only one part of a much larger conversation.

Starlink now operates in more than half of Africa’s countries, despite the continent accounting for only a small fraction of its global subscribers. The attraction lies less in today’s revenues than tomorrow’s infrastructure. Africa has the world’s largest connectivity gap, one of its fastest-growing digital economies and mobile markets that remain far from saturated. Every licence secured today is a foothold in the communications networks of tomorrow.

For governments, the calculation looks different.

As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly important to economic development, policymakers are asking questions that received far less attention a decade ago. Who owns critical infrastructure? Where is economic value created? What obligations should global technology companies meet in return for access to local markets? How much control should remain within the country?

A government prioritising rapid connectivity may reach a different conclusion from one focused on domestic ownership, national security or tax compliance. Africa is often discussed as a single digital market, yet 54 sovereign states are making their own judgements about how to balance investment, competition, connectivity and control.
Namibia’s decision may not be the final chapter for Starlink. The country’s legislation already provides a mechanism for ministerial exemptions, leaving room for further discussions should the company choose to pursue one.
But the more important story is not what happens next with Starlink specifically. It’s what the pattern reveals. Market access is not simply about demand. It’s becoming more conditional, more localised and more closely tied to questions of ownership, oversight and value capture. Companies that treat regulatory compliance as a hurdle to overcome may find themselves in a very different position from those that treat it as part of doing business. For organisations planning to expand across the continent, that distinction is worth understanding before the licence application, not after.