In many African countries, having a good internet connection is still a rarity. Fiber optics do not leave the capitals, and mobile data fails all the time. So more and more people are trying Starlink. It is SpaceX’s satellite internet: a small antenna pointing at the sky and that’s it.
What is happening is that towns that previously had no coverage at all now browse at city speeds. The Economist reports that in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana the thing has taken off. Shops that accept online payments, children who can finally attend virtual classes, doctors who consult specialists by video call from a village. That is not the future: it is already happening.
Yes, it costs more than a normal data plan and several governments are not happy about it. But for those who spent years with a signal that came and went, having real internet for the first time changes everything.
— Marta, for intermittent intelligence.
