Elon Musk-owned Starlink has launched in Zimbabwe three months after securing an operating license in the Southern African nation.
The company will offer its services through a government-approved local partner, IMC Communications.
According to Starlink’s website, the hardware will cost $350 with a $50 monthly subscription and Starlink Mini for $200 and a $30 subscription. Unlike in other African countries where Starlink offers local currency pricing, customers in Zimbabwe will be charged in dollars.
Starlink’s launch in Zimbabwe comes as the satellite internet service continues to make inroads into African countries despite regulatory troubles. In August, the company launched in Botswana—its sixth country in southern Africa.
In September 2023, Zimbabwe’s regulator, the Postal & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), announced that Starlink had applied for a license. The regulator would later crack down on unregistered users smuggling in Starlink devices from neighbouring Zambia, warning that they were breaking the law.
In October 2023, some Zimbabwean legislators argued that Starlink’s operating license should be rejected because Musk’s other company, X, was being used to allegedly disparage the country’s leadership, including President Emerson Mnangagwa.
In May 2024, President Mnangagwa said the telco regulator approved the license and a local company, IMC Communications, was appointed the official sole and exclusive reseller.