The Uganda Communications Commission formally licenced Starlink on May 15, with President Yoweri Museveni witnessing the signing of the operational licence agreement at State House, Entebbe — closing out a months-long regulatory standoff that began when Uganda suspended unauthorised Starlink use in January 2026.
UCC Executive Director George William Nyombi Thembo signed the agreement alongside SpaceX representatives led by Ryan Goodnight. The licence sets out three conditions Starlink must meet before commercial operations begin: deploy a national gateway with a physical point of presence inside Uganda, open a staffed local office with technical and legal personnel, and register all devices activated in the country with UCC. Thembo handed the operational certificate to Goodnight on the spot, during the ceremony itself.
Museveni posted about the signing on X shortly after, stating: “Our interest is security, revenue assurance, and proper accountability within the telecommunications sector so that we know who is operating and who the customers are.” He added that he was “pleased that Starlink has agreed to comply with Uganda’s laws and regulatory requirements as it prepares to begin service delivery in the country.” Uganda had blocked unauthorised Starlink access in January ahead of the 2026 election cycle; users who had been running the service via foreign SIM registrations were cut off when UCC acted.
On Starlink’s side, Goodnight described the deal as a step toward lowering internet costs in Uganda. “We believe this partnership will lower internet costs and enable more people to join the digital economy,” he said at the ceremony. He added that Starlink intends to donate connectivity devices to schools and health facilities, working directly with the ministries of Education and Health to identify sites. Dr Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, said the licence followed “extensive engagements between the government and Starlink officials” and confirmed that device registration, a local gateway, and a staffed office were non-negotiable conditions — not formalities that Starlink could defer post-launch.
The national gateway requirement has a practical upside for end users: routing satellite traffic through a local point of presence removes the cross-border relay fees that pushed grey-market Starlink costs up for Ugandan subscribers who had been buying service via kits registered in other countries. A locally-anchored gateway also gives UCC real-time visibility into network activity — which is precisely what Museveni flagged as the government’s primary concern. South Africa’s ICASA proposed its own new satellite spectrum regulations the same week, with Starlink’s South African licensing dispute still unresolved. Uganda arrived at its framework by insisting on hard upfront conditions rather than post-launch compliance promises, and that approach may give other African regulators a usable template as satellite internet licensing moves from ad hoc approvals to structured frameworks across the continent.
via · President Museveni on X
Image: Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Executive Director George William Nyombi Thembo, signing agreement with Starlink team
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