“Lesotho Just Levelled Up”: Starlink Brings Satellite Internet to Lesotho’s Police and Remote Areas

• Elon Musk shared Starlink's post, confirming the satellite internet service is now active in Lesotho
• Lesotho received a 10-year Starlink operating licence in April 2025, making it one of the first African countries to officially welcome the service
• South Africans online could not hide their frustration that a much smaller, landlocked neighbour now has access to fast satellite internet that SA doesn't

Elon Musk took to X on 20 June 2026 to repost Starlink's announcement with a simple caption saying that Starlink is in Lesotho. The images he shared alongside the post showed what appears to be a Starlink receiver fitted to the roof of a police vehicle, as well as a building with satellite dishes and antennas mounted on the roof.

The post set off a wave of reactions, with many South Africans watching from the sidelines as their small, landlocked neighbour connected to high-speed satellite internet before them.

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How Lesotho got Starlink before South Africa

The Lesotho Communications Authority granted Starlink a 10-year operating licence on 14 April 2025. The licensing framework was restructured to accommodate low-earth orbit satellite technology. This allows Starlink Lesotho to offer high-speed internet to both individuals and businesses across the country.

Starlink kits are available for delivery to towns across Lesotho. The standard hardware kit costs around R7,400 with a monthly subscription of R950, while the Mini kit is available for R3,800.

South Africa has not yet officially welcomed Starlink due to a regulation requiring 30% Black South African equity in telecom operators, a requirement SpaceX has not yet met. Market strategist Casey Sprake pointed out that South Africa currently sits in the bottom third globally for mobile data affordability, with 1GB of data costing roughly R34 on average. In many cases, that is more than an hour's pay at minimum wage.

What Starlink means for Lesotho

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For a country where large parts of the population live in mountainous, hard-to-reach areas, satellite internet is a game-changer. The Lesotho government sees it as a boost to education, economic growth and digital access in communities that traditional broadband infrastructure has never been able to reach.

Local telecom operators, including Vodacom Lesotho, raised objections during the licensing process, arguing that foreign operators should be required to have local ownership stakes before entering the market.

View the X post below:

Mzansi debates Starlink in Lesotho

People had feelings about the decision by both Elon Musk and Lesotho and shared their thoughts on Elon's X page:

@thesoragirls wrote:

"Starlink in the mountains hitting different. Lesotho just levelled up!"

@IfeanyiVictorN3 wrote:

"South African after discovering Lesotho has it before them again."

@HeltonGeo questioned:

"Is he the reason you haven't brought Starlink to South Africa?"

@Alaska0420 said:

"Starlink is a second chance for parts of the world that pretty much got left behind. Think about a student in a village in Lesotho who couldn't join online classes or even submit a paper. Now they can get on the same platforms students in London or New York use every day."

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More on Elon Musk and Starlink in Africa

• Briefly News recently reported on Gareth Cliff defending Elon Musk after he was declared the world's first trillionaire.
• Elon Musk's father Errol made bold comments about English-speaking South Africans in an interview that sparked a heated debate online.
• Elon Musk also made headlines after recruiting a South African investor to the SpaceX board.

Source: Briefly News