During the Malawi Space Conference which was held between 9 – 11 November 2022, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) announced that Starlink has been licensed to provide internet services in the country. To this end, Malawi became the latest  African country to license Starlink services in Africa, after countries such as Mozambique and Nigeria.

SpaceX has been in discussion with the regulatory body authorities in Malawi, MACRA, since February 2022 to pursue all the necessary licenses to bring Starlinks, its satellite-based broadband services, to Malawi.

According to Duad Suleman, MACRA’s director general, Starlink received three licenses, which include the Facility license, which depicts an approval for Starlink to build infrastructures; the Network services license, which legally ensures Starlink has the authority to provide connectivity to Malawians;  and the Application license, the approval to provide internet services in Malawi. 

Furthermore, Suleman explained that this is the first high-speed, low-latency broadband satellite Internet service license issued by the authority.