Starlink has registered 8,075 customers in Botswana, according to data from Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA)'s annual report.
These figures include connections up to March 2025, meaning the low-Earth orbit internet services, which launched in Botswana in August 2024, might have accumulated more customers since then.
In early 2025, Starlink reached capacity in the capital city, Gaborone, meaning users who purchased the kit in Gaborone and surrounding areas after this period would not get any signal. However, the capacity issue has now been addressed.
According to BOCRA, Starlink now makes up 3.89% of total fixed broadband connections in Botswana. Overall, fixed broadband subscriptions grew by 44.6% from 143,628 subscribers registered in March 2024 to 207,702 in March 2025.
"The overall increase was primarily due to the growth in new products and services introduced by mobile operators as well as the advent of low-earth-orbit satellite services in the Botswana market," BOCRA said.
Starlink was licensed in May 2024 following an intervention by then-President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who instructed the regulator BOCRA to accelerate the licensing process. Unlike neighbours including Namibia and South Africa, who have rejected Starlink's license request due to ownership structure disagreements, Botswana licensed the service despite it not having any local ownership.
Instead, Starlink Internet Services Botswana Proprietary Limited is 100% owned by Starlink Holdings Netherlands B.V, an entity registered in the Netherlands.