2024-02-11 12:38:46
The upcoming arrival of Starlink technology in Cameroon does not only make people happy. In a recent press release, the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) warns the project led by billionaire Elon Musk, accusing it of not respecting the Cameroonian regulatory framework. Atmosphere.
Starlink announces its arrival in 2025
To fully understand this pass of arms, a little step back in time is necessary. During January 2023, Starlink, the company specializing in satellite internet owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk, created a surprise by announcing the upcoming launch of its services in Cameroon.
The deployment of Starlink technology is promised in 2025 in the country, opening the prospect of high-speed internet access in areas poorly served by traditional networks.
ART steps up to the plate and accuses Starlink
An announcement clearly not to the taste of the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) in Cameroon. In a scathing press release released on January 30, ART Director General Philémon Zo’o Zame sharply reprimands Starlink.
He specifically accuses the American company of not having taken the appropriate steps to operate in Cameroon, in violation of the regulations in force. “To date, the agency has not received any application for an operating title” asserts the telecoms regulator.
Obtaining an operating license required
In its vitriolic press release, the ART thus recalls that “the provision of internet access in Cameroon is conditional on the prior obtaining of a first category license”. A license that Starlink does not currently possess, denounces the agency.
The latter even wants to be threatening by specifying that “any advertising or propaganda of a false nature is punishable by the regulations in force”. A thinly veiled warning towards Elon Musk’s project.
Towards a standoff between ART and Starlink?
By ordering Starlink to quickly regularize its situation, the Cameroonian regulator is seeking to mark its territory. The arrival of Elon Musk’s satellite technology indeed seems to have been perceived as a form of intrusion on its borders.
ART thus intends to remind people who is the boss in the Cameroonian telecoms market, by threatening sanctions against the American company. Enough to dissuade Elon Musk, not really known for his patience with national authorities?
Regardless, this lively press release from ART sounds like a first warning. The arrival of Starlink in Cameroon could well come up against regulatory turbulence, symptoms of the regulator’s nervousness in the face of this not really desired new addition… So to be continued!