MTN announces Starlink launch plan
MTN Zambia has become the first mobile operator in Africa to complete field testing of SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, the company’s direct-to-cell service.
The operator transmitted the country’s first satellite-based data session and mobile money transaction using MTN Zambia’s licensed spectrum and Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.
A standard LTE-compatible smartphone connected directly to Starlink satellites and completed both a data session and a fintech transaction through MTN’s MoMo platform.
No conventional ground towers were involved in the trial, which MTN described as a first for the country and the continent.
MTN Zambia said a commercial launch is expected in the coming weeks, subject to approval from the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA).
At launch, the service will support WhatsApp voice and video calls, the MoMo App, the MyMTN App, navigation, and weather applications, with more to follow.
Starlink’s direct-to-cell (D2C) satellites operate as cell towers in orbit, using phased array antennas to communicate directly with standard LTE handsets.
The satellites relay signals across the Starlink constellation via laser links, integrating with operators’ existing systems in a manner similar to roaming.
The technology requires no specialised hardware, firmware updates, or apps — only a clear view of the sky and a 4G-compatible phone.
While MTN and Vodacom, through parent company Vodafone, are testing and launching D2C services elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is lagging behind.
This is because Starlink refuses to launch its fixed wireless broadband service in South Africa through middlemen, and the country has strict local ownership requirements for telecommunications licences.
To obtain the necessary network, service, and spectrum licences, SpaceX’s local entity must be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups (HDGs).
HDGs include people who are Black, women, youth, and people with disabilities. Black includes people of black African, Coloured, and Indian descent.
Targeting Africa’s hardest-to-reach areas
MTN Zambia said its D2C service would extend coverage to remote areas where building terrestrial infrastructure is economically or logistically impractical.
Target areas include national game parks, rural farming communities, and settlements surrounded by rivers and water bodies where tower construction is not viable.
The Zambian milestone builds on MTN’s broader satellite strategy across the continent, which has accelerated over the past year.
In March 2025, MTN South Africa and US satellite provider Lynk Global conducted the first satellite-to-mobile phone call in Africa using an unmodified smartphone.
That trial in Vryburg, North West, tested GSM voice and SMS capabilities over Lynk Global’s LEO network using MTN-licensed spectrum.
MTN South Africa said it planned to extend testing to LTE as legacy 2G and 3G technologies are phased out.
The group has been exploring partnerships with multiple D2C providers, including Lynk Global, AST SpaceMobile, OneWeb, and Starlink.
Growing competition across the continent
MTN’s Zambia trial comes amid intensifying competition among Africa’s major telecoms operators to secure satellite connectivity partnerships and close coverage gaps.
In December 2025, Airtel Africa announced a partnership with SpaceX to roll out Starlink Mobile across all 14 of its African markets.
That deal covers approximately 174 million subscribers, with services set to begin in 2026 pending country-specific regulatory approvals.
Vodacom has taken a different route. Its parent, Vodafone, announced an agreement with Amazon Leo to connect remote base stations via satellite backhaul.
That arrangement focuses on linking 4G and 5G sites in areas where deploying fibre or fixed wireless connections is difficult.
Vodafone and Vodacom have also partnered with AST SpaceMobile, which trialled a space-based 5G voice call using an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22 in 2023.
While African mobile operators are exploring partnerships with multiple LEO providers, the fact is that Starlink’s constellation is currently unrivalled.
Not only is it by far the largest constellation with 9,943 active satellites (per satellitemap.space), it is the only commercially available LEO network at any kind of scale.
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