Uganda has officially granted an operating license to Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk. The announcement was made by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni via a post on the social media platform X this Friday.

Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, is rapidly expanding its presence across Africa and has already launched services in over a dozen countries on the continent, including Somalia.

President Museveni stated that he witnessed the signing of the operating license agreement between the Uganda Communications Commission and Starlink. This marks a crucial step toward Starlink's official commercial launch in Uganda.

The Uganda Communications Commission serves as the country's regulatory authority for the communications sector.

He further added, "I am pleased that Starlink has committed to fully complying with local laws, regulations, and industry oversight during its service provision in Uganda."

For a long time, Ugandan citizens have criticized the high costs and poor stability of local internet services. Industry experts widely attribute this issue to insufficient market competition.

Currently, the data traffic market in Uganda is dominated by a subsidiary of the South African telecom giant MTN Group, with its main competitor being the local branch of India's Bharti Airtel.