The report, published on 15 June 2026 covers Starlink”s performance across 23 countries in Q1 2026, as the satellite provider extends its footprint to 27 African markets with a 28th expected by end of June. The analysis tracks two years of performance data across four sub-regions: West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.
SpaceX’s Starlink is outpacing terrestrial internet providers on download speeds across nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa, but overcrowding in major cities and uneven infrastructure investment are tempering its continental impact, according to new Speedtest Intelligence data from connectivity research firm Ookla.
The report , published on 15 June 2026 covers Starlink’s performance across 23 countries in Q1 2026, as the satellite provider extends its footprint to 27 African markets with a 28th expected by end of June. The analysis tracks two years of performance data across four sub-regions: West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.
Starlink now leads terrestrial ISPs on median download speeds in 22 of the 23 markets analysed, with Madagascar the sole exception, reflecting that country’s strong fibre investment. The speed advantage is stark in markets with underdeveloped fixed broadband: Starlink is nearly nine times faster than local ISPs in Eswatini, and five to six times faster in Guinea-Bissau and Botswana.
Of the 23 countries assessed, 16 exceeded 50 Mbps median download speeds in Q1 2026, with only Eswatini, Botswana, and Senegal surpassing 100 Mbps. Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar sit in the lower performance tier, below 50 Mbps, a pattern Ookla links directly to capacity constraints in heavily subscribed markets. Demand has been strong enough to force Starlink to pause new sign-ups in Abuja, Lagos, Nairobi, Lusaka, and Harare. V3 satellites expected in late 2026 are projected to deliver a tenfold increase in downlink capacity per satellite, which could ease congestion in these markets.
Regional trends vary considerably. The Central region recorded the strongest improvement, peaking at 96.24 Mbps in Q3 2025. The East region bucked the trend, declining from 50.67 Mbps in Q1 2024 to 37.39 Mbps by Q1 2026. Ground infrastructure is proving decisive on latency, with Points of Presence deployed in Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Lagos cutting latencies by over 80 percent in the Southern and East regions. Kenya recorded the continent’s lowest latency at 39 ms, while countries without localised gateways face severe penalties: DR Congo sits at 127 ms and Liberia at 222 ms. Terrestrial networks retain a meaningful advantage on latency and pricing in several key economies including Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Ookla estimates Starlink has reached approximately half a million African users by end of 2025, out of around 10 million globally. Zimbabwe recorded the sharpest relative growth, with satellite subscribers rising more than 17-fold in 16 months. Nigeria remains the largest individual market, with Starlink ranking as the country’s second-largest ISP.
Rather than competing with mobile operators, satellite is increasingly becoming a partner. Airtel Africa has agreed to distribute Starlink broadband and offer Direct-to-Device services across its 14 African markets in 2026. Vodafone has signed with Amazon’s LEO constellation for remote backhaul across the continent, Orange has secured Eutelsat OneWeb capacity for enterprise and government services, and MTN South Africa trialled Direct-to-Device connectivity with Lynk Global earlier this year.
South Africa itself remains locked out. Starlink has yet to meet the country’s 30 percent local ownership requirement, though it has pledged US$29 million to connect 5,000 schools and US$120 million in local infrastructure investment. Proposed amendments to the Electronic Communications Act may open alternative licensing routes, but Ookla places a realistic launch timeline at 2027 at the earliest.
