Elon Musk’s Starlink to deepen telecom service in Nigeria – NCC

The Executive Vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has opened up on the country’s expectation from the recently signed agreement with Elon Musk’s Space X Starlink project.

The NCC recently granted SpaceX (Starlink) two licenses: “International Gateway” and “Internet Service Provider.”

The International Gateway and ISP licenses are valid for ten years and five years, respectively. Both licenses went into effect in May 2022 and can be renewed once they expire.

However, during his presentation on “Realizing the New Set Target of 70% Broadband Penetration” at the ATCON National Strategic Mobilization for the Actualization of 70% National Broadband Target Conference & Exhibition held in Abuja this week, Danbatta stated that the Commission believes the SpaceX (Starlink) satellite internet constellation will provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the country.

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“The Company provides satellite Internet access service to 32 nations worldwide,” he explained.

According to the NCC CEO, the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP) mandates “leveraging existing Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) infrastructure to reach unserved/underserved rural areas,” so the Commission has ratified guidelines for Commercial Satellite Communications, including Earth Station in Motion (ESIM), Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), VSAT Hub, and Space Segment Satellite Operators.

“The Commission has given the country’s first Landing Permit to a Space Segment Satellite Operator, which will deliver significant internet capacity,” he stated.