Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) agreed to its first-ever high-speed, low-latency broadband satellite internet service license to Starlink, the satellite-based Internet network. Starlink has been awarded the following licenses: network facilities, network services and application service licenses, which will become effective once the information is published in the Government Gazette.
The licenses were aquired from MACRA after negotiations began as early as February 2022 as part of Starlink's expansion on the African continent, where broadband connectivity demand has accelerated since 2020, particularly because of COVID-19. Since then, the company has made progress on the continent with the award of licenses in Mozambique and Nigeria. As soon as the licenses are operational, Starlink will use them to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to Malawians through its satellite constellation of approximately 3,500 devices orbiting the planet. With this new player, Malawians expect not only improved Internet quality, but also reduced costs.
In April 2021, the Ministry of Information asked the regulator to encourage mobile network operators to reduce their data rates. In accordance, the service providers have changed their rates, but the public is still not satisfied.
