BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE- Elon Musk’s business has its eyes on Eswatini.
Known as Starlink, the satellite and internet provider company which was founded by the richest man on earth, Elon Musk, has indicated that the business will set up a shop in Eswatini.
This is according to the Starlink World Coverage Map which was revealed yesterday on the Starlink website.
The Starlink World Coverage Map provides an overview of locations where the service is available and when it will be available in areas where it is not yet offered.
The first two African countries confirmed to be getting Starlink are Mozambique and Nigeria, with rollouts set down for the fourth quarter of 2022.
According to the Starlink World Map, seven other countries on the African continent that are slated for a rollout in the first quarter of 2023 are Angola, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Eleven more African countries also have their estimated availability dates as sometime in 2023.
Including the officially-unrecognized state of Somaliland, 12 countries on the continent will get the service next year.
Efforts to get a comment from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade and business bodies proved to be futile by the time this article was being compiled at 5.13 pm today.
However, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said he would revert.
Three months ago, we published that Elon Musk inspired businessman to donate to Eswatini hospitals.
Musk did this by Retweeting a testimonial on the efficiency of Starlinks, asking if other people wished to donate Starlink to remote areas.
The United States-based businessman, Ram Prasad, a Co-Founder and CEO at Fan Mile Consulting replied to Musk’s posts, saying there were many hospitals and clinics in Eswatini that needed good internet (Starlinks).
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, Musk’s company, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 40 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023. SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019.
“We would be glad to source funding if Starlink were made available there,” said Prasad.
However, there were no replies or comments on Prasad’s humane post. Entrepreneur Elon Musk, The Tesla and SpaceX chief, has become the world’s richest person, with his net worth crossing US$200 billion (E3.6 trillion) following a surging Tesla stock, as of September 27, 2021. Musk becomes the third person in the world to have ever crossed the US$200 billion mark.
