Rwanda: Starlink strengthens its infrastructure and continues its expansion
October 7th 2025
Rwanda is the second African country where Starlink launched its commercial services in February 2023. The company is competing with CanalBox, Liquid Telecom, MTN, Airtel, etc.
US satellite internet provider Starlink plans to install its first transmission center in Rwanda before the end of the year. Its parent company, SpaceX, has signed a spectrum agreement with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), a partnership confirmed last week during a meeting between Minister of State for ICT Yves Iradukunda and executives from billionaire Elon Musk’s company.
According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Innovation, the center will be directly connected to the national high-speed fiber optic backbone, without providing further details on the specifics of the infrastructure. The specialist website Starlink Info points out that Starlink’s ground stations serve as relays between the satellite network and the global internet.
“They act as bridges: they receive data from the satellites and send it to the Internet, and vice versa, allowing you to browse, stream videos or work online. These stations play a vital role in the operation of Starlink’s high-speed Internet, especially in remote areas where traditional connections are not available ,” explains the media. Starlink Insider , another specialized media, has listed two active gateways in Africa, both located in Nigeria, in Lekki (Lagos) and Ikire (Osun).
The planned infrastructure in Rwanda is expected to accelerate Starlink’s network deployment in the region, improve service quality, and expand its subscriber base. According to official data, the company already has approximately 5,000 subscribers in the country. In the first quarter of 2025, it had 4,503 subscribers, according to RURA, representing 5.23% of the national fixed-line internet base, behind GVA (CanalBox), Liquid Telecom, and MTN Rwanda.
The new capabilities offered by the ground station should also enable Starlink Rwanda to better meet the needs of the government, with which the company is collaborating on the country’s digital transformation. Discussions with SpaceX also focused on expanding internet access in schools and communities, building on pilot projects already conducted in Rwanda and models tested in Mexico and Niger. Finally, the two parties are considering innovative financing mechanisms and partnerships with donors to ensure the program’s sustainability, while expanding Starlink’s applications to agriculture, health, and rural services.
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