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For several months, the Starlink case has emerged as one of the most controversial issues within Senegal’s telecommunications ecosystem. Television panels, opinion columns, social media platforms, and union statements all reflect an exceptional convergence of views on a matter of digital infrastructure. While the debate is undeniably legitimate, it now appears necessary to reassess it within the current context.In reality, the core issue does not lie in Starlink as a commercial entity. The fundamental challenge lies in establishing universal connectivity across Senegal.

For more than a decade, the Senegalese government has demonstrated a clear ambition to ensure universal access to broadband. Significant progress has been made by telecom operators and Internet service providers, particularly through the deployment of fourth-generation mobile networks (4G), the expansion of fiber-optic coverage, and sustained investment in backbone network infrastructure.

Nevertheless, these efforts remain insufficient in light of the persistent territorial disparities. Structural inequalities in connectivity continue to exist between Dakar and regions such as Kédougou, Tambacounda, and Matam. In thousands of localities, stable Internet access remains either limited or financially out of reach. In other words, full digital inclusion is still not a reality.

Within this context, the emergence of a satellite operator such as Starlink — capable of delivering coverage to remote areas without complex terrestrial infrastructure — introduces a new technological variable into the national equation.

Yet public discourse has gradually shifted toward a binary confrontation:

On one side, the State as regulatory authority.
On the other, established operators seeking to protect their investments and workforce.

While this interpretation is understandable, it is also reductive. It transforms a national digital development imperative into a clash of sectoral — even corporatist — interests.

The Starlink case cannot be confined to a “sectoral” negotiation among a limited circle of economic and institutional stakeholders. It is fundamentally a public-interest issue, comparable to rural electrification or access to water initiatives.

Amid what are often described as “high-level” debates and displays of expertise aimed at dominating media space, Senegal is now witnessing neighboring countries move faster in the practical implementation of digital transformation.

Benin, Mauritania, and Mali — sometimes with more limited resources — have accelerated progress in digital administration and online public services. Meanwhile, in Senegal, essential administrative procedures remain difficult to access online. The digital availability of certain official documents is still complex — if not impossible.

This is despite substantial investment. Over recent years, several billion CFA francs have been allocated to digitalization programs, including administrative platforms, e-government systems, and the dematerialization of public services. Yet many of these initiatives struggle to achieve full operational capacity or large-scale adoption.

A paradox has therefore emerged: while infrastructure expands and budgets are mobilized, the citizen’s digital experience remains constrained.

One of the most frequently cited arguments since the announcement of Starlink’s deployment concerns digital sovereignty. The principle is valid. States must protect their critical infrastructure. Issues surrounding data hosting, traffic flows, and network resilience are undeniably strategic.

However, sovereignty must not become a political argument disconnected from operational realities. No African country — even among the most digitally advanced — currently exercises full sovereignty across the entire digital value chain, including satellites, submarine cables, cloud computing, and network equipment.

Sovereignty is built progressively: through investment in data centers, regulation of data flows, strengthening of local expertise, and diversification of technological partnerships. Within this trajectory, a controlled opening to global-scale operators is not a contradiction but often a necessary phase.

To ease tensions, transparency is essential. The State must clarify and make public several key elements:

• The legal framework governing license allocation

• The amount of fees paid by Starlink

• Coverage and universal service obligations

• Potential tariff regulation mechanisms

Such pedagogical transparency is indispensable to counter misinformation and rebuild public trust — particularly in the spirit of “Jub, Jubal, Jubanti.”

The objective is not to replace existing operators, but to complete the national architecture. In many countries, satellite constellations serve as complementary infrastructure:

• Connectivity for rural territories

• Backup solutions in case of fiber outages

• Support for essential services (security, health, education)

From this perspective, public programs could be envisioned: connecting isolated schools, equipping rural health posts, and providing Internet access to local governments.

The possibility of bulk procurement of equipment kits within social programs reflects a digital inclusion policy — not preferential treatment for a private actor.

The current risk lies in the excessive technicization of a debate that is, above all, practical.

For the average Senegalese citizen, the issue is neither orbital nor regulatory.

The questions are simple:

Is Internet access available?
Is it reliable?
Is it affordable?

Residual rivalries between experts, interpretative disputes, and struggles over monopoly of truth belong more to sectoral debate than to citizen priorities.

Senegal is entering a decisive phase of its digital transformation. In this context, each technology must be assessed not by the particular interests it disrupts, but by its collective impact.

The Starlink case must therefore not be treated as closed. Political confrontation, corporatist claims, and the instrumentalization of sovereignty narratives must be avoided. It should be considered for what it intrinsically represents: a potential accelerator of national connectivity.

The priority remains clear:

To connect as many Senegalese citizens as possible,
To reduce territorial disparities,
To make access to digital technology more affordable.

It is on this ground — that of the public interest — that the debate must now move forward.

Basile NIANE
Co-Founder, Social Net Link