Monrovia — Liberia, Africa's oldest independent nation, has faced a significant challenge - limited internet access. Traditional internet service providers (ISPs) often struggle to reach remote areas, leaving millions without reliable connectivity.
This decision holds the potential to significantly reconfigure Liberia's digital landscape, presenting opportunities for advancement while posing substantial challenges.
This digital divide hinders economic growth, educational opportunities, and communication. However, Starlink, a satellite internet constellation developed by SpaceX, has emerged as a potential game-changer.
Starlink: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Internet Chaos?
With recent cable cuts causing widespread internet disruptions, Starlink's ability to provide high-speed internet access independent of ground infrastructure becomes even more critical.
Unlike traditional internet service providers (ISPs) reliant on physical cables, Starlink leverages a network of low-orbiting satellites to deliver internet connectivity. This makes it less susceptible to disruptions caused by damaged cables or localized infrastructure issues.
In his article on Starlink's potential entry into Liberia, Liberian scholar, J. Mawolo Baysah outlined the opportunities and risks associated with the company operating in Liberia.
Opportunities for Liberia Bridging the Digital Divide
According to DataReportal, Liberia's internet penetration rate as of January 2024 stood at approximately 30%, with approximately 1.65 million internet users. Despite this progress, many remote regions of the country still lack the necessary infrastructure for reliable internet services, leaving large portions of the population disconnected.
Starlink's satellite technology offers a solution by providing high-speed internet even to the most remote areas. This could play a significant role in closing Liberia's digital divide, by ensuring that all Liberians have access to basic online resources and opportunities, said Dr. Baysah.
Stimulating Economic Growth and Innovation
According to Dr. Baysah, the availability of reliable, high-speed internet across Liberia has the potential to significantly drive economic growth, particularly within the country's emerging technology sector. Improved access to digital platforms would benefit entrepreneurs and small businesses, fostering innovation and attracting foreign investment.
Additionally, increased internet penetration could help diversify Liberia's economy by reducing its dependence on traditional sectors such as agriculture and mining. Countries like Nigeria and Kenya have experienced the rise of digital economies following the expansion of internet services.
A similar path in Liberia could stimulate the growth of fintech, e-commerce, and other technology-driven industries. With a young, talented, and dynamic population, Liberia is well-positioned to seize these opportunities.
By investing in digital literacy, and the entrepreneurial and problem-solving skills of its youth, Liberia could nurture a generation of innovators and job creators.
Advancing Education through E-Learning
Dr. Baysah noted that Starlink's services could significantly benefit Liberia's education sector, especially in rural areas where schools often struggle with limited resources.
Access to high-speed internet could revolutionize education by providing students and teachers with online resources, including e-books, educational videos, and virtual classes.
This could improve the overall quality of education across the country. The experience of Rwanda, where a project with Starlink was implemented in schools, highlights the transformative potential of satellite internet in education.
Liberia could similarly benefit from such advancements, fostering a more equitable educational system. Telemedicine, as an Option for Healthcare Delivery: Telemedicine has the potential to greatly improve healthcare delivery in Liberia, particularly in remote and underserved areas where access to medical services is limited. By leveraging high-speed internet, healthcare providers could offer remote consultations, diagnostics, and treatment plans, connecting patients with doctors without the burden of long-distance travel.
This could lead to improved healthcare outcomes and more efficient use of medical resources throughout the country.
The experience of countries like Ghana, where telemedicine initiatives have expanded healthcare access in rural regions, underscores the transformative potential of this technology. Liberia could similarly benefit from such advancements, promoting a more equitable healthcare system and ensuring that quality medical care is accessible to all citizens, regardless of where they live.
Challenges and Risks
While Starlink's entry could bring much-needed competition to Liberia's telecommunications sector, Baysah outlined it also poses threats to existing local internet service providers (ISPs) such as Lonestar Cell MTN and Orange Liberia.
These companies, which have long dominated the market, may struggle to compete with the pricing and service quality offered by a global player like Starlink.
This could lead to market consolidation, potentially resulting in job losses and the closure of these smaller ISPs. The potential disruption of the local market could have significant repercussions for employment in the telecommunications sector.
As the smaller ISPs face increased pressure, they may be forced to downsize or cease operations altogether. The LTA must address this concern by considering policies that protect local jobs while promoting healthy competition in the marketplace.
Regulatory and Security Considerations
The entry of a global satellite network such as Starlink's raises important regulatory and security concerns, noted, while at the same time called on the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) to ensure that Starlink's operations align with Liberia's regulatory framework, particularly regarding data privacy and national security.
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Unlike traditional ISPs that rely on terrestrial infrastructure, satellite-based services operate on a global scale, making it more challenging for national authorities to monitor and control data traffic.
Jarsea Burphy, communications department of LTA, told FrontPageAfrica that each technology has its pros and cons, adding, "The important thing is that we provide an opportunity for new entrants to compete and drive down cost.
"Starlink indeed has its advantages in latency (the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another), their satellites are a shorter distance in orbit than regular satellites, however they will have to be competitive if they want to attract customers," Burphy added.
"Rain of course does have an adverse effect on satellite connectivity. Nothing is more reliable than fiber but can fiber deliver nationwide? Expansion is expensive as we've seen, and is a contributing factor to the capacity of the ACE Cable not being fully deployed. What Starlink's entry may do is to urge other providers to step up and deploy faster."
"Right now, we have a temporary redundant terrestrial connection through Orange from Ivory Coast. This has helped during the ACE Cable interruptions we've experienced several times this year. Having Starlink provides an additional high-speed broadband connectivity."
Burphy added that LTA requires Starlink to partner with a local ISP, adding, "they have revealed who that will be but that entity will be charged with breaking down their packages to the public and develop a price structure that will attract and maintain customers"
