{"id":28395,"date":"2025-05-16T13:18:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/?p=28395"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:19:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:19:19","slug":"airtel-africa-partners-with-spacexs-starlink-to-expand-high-speed-internet-access-across-14-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/2025\/05\/16\/airtel-africa-partners-with-spacexs-starlink-to-expand-high-speed-internet-access-across-14-countries\/","title":{"rendered":"Airtel Africa Partners with SpaceX\u2019s Starlink to Expand High-Speed Internet Access Across 14 Countries"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h3>\n

Tech entrepreneur and investor, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, hails the deal as a bold, pragmatic move to bridge Africa’s digital divide.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lagos, Nigeria<\/strong> \u2013 In a landmark development that could reshape internet connectivity across the continent, Airtel Africa<\/strong> has signed a strategic agreement with SpaceX<\/strong>, the company founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, to deploy Starlink\u2019s high-speed satellite internet<\/strong> in its 14 operational markets across Africa.<\/p>\n

The deal is seen as a significant step toward bridging the digital divide in Africa, particularly in rural and underserved regions<\/strong> where traditional infrastructure has struggled to provide reliable service.<\/p>\n

Describing the move as a \u201cnew era for Airtel Africa,\u201d<\/strong> renowned Nigerian professor, entrepreneur, and investor Ndubuisi Ekekwe<\/strong> praised the initiative as a pragmatic business model<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf terrestrial infrastructure is going to be disintermediated by satellite technology, the best defense is to partner with the satellite. Airtel has made a bold and strategic case by aligning with Starlink,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Airtel Africa\u2019s CEO, Sunil Taldar<\/strong>, emphasized the importance of satellite technology in closing Africa\u2019s connectivity gap, stating:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNext-generation satellite connectivity will ensure that every individual, business, and community has reliable and affordable voice and data connectivity\u2014even in the most remote parts of Africa.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ekekwe also highlighted Airtel Nigeria\u2019s strong local talent, singling out Deus Uche Osuji<\/strong>, a fellow alumnus of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) and Airtel Nigeria\u2019s Vice President and Head of Operations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWith Uche on the ground, we expect significant enhancements in network quality and operational efficiency. Airtel Nigeria is in very capable hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In a personal gesture of support, Ekekwe also announced he would sponsor satellite broadband<\/strong> access in two schools in his hometown \u2014 Ovim Community School<\/strong> and Secondary Technical School Ovim<\/strong> \u2014 to enhance teaching and learning outcomes through improved internet connectivity.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs Airtel rolls out Starlink in Nigeria, I urge them to include these two schools as pilot clients. I will cover the cost of broadband services for both institutions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Airtel-Starlink partnership is widely expected to boost digital transformation across the continent, offering hope for millions who remain disconnected from the digital economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tech entrepreneur and investor, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, hails the deal as a bold, pragmatic move to bridge Africa’s digital divide. Lagos, Nigeria \u2013 In a landmark development that could reshape internet connectivity across the continent, Airtel Africa has signed a strategic agreement with SpaceX, the company founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, to deploy Starlink\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28395"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28400,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28395\/revisions\/28400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techandbiz.com.ng\/tab-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}