The Global South’s digital future must not belong to Bezos and Musk

What the report says

Al Jazeera columnist Tafi Mhaka argues that the rapid spread of satellite internet in the Global South could help narrow the digital divide, but may also deepen dependence on a small number of powerful foreign firms. The article focuses on Amazon’s Leo service, which is expected to enter South Africa in 2027 through a partnership with Herotel, and on Elon Musk’s Starlink, which is already expanding across Africa, Latin America and Asia.

According to the piece, Amazon’s planned South African launch would use Herotel’s existing reach into rural areas and smaller towns, while Starlink’s growth shows how quickly one provider can dominate a market. The column says satellite networks can bring connectivity to places beyond fibre and mobile coverage, but affordability, device costs and electricity remain major barriers for many households in lower-income countries. It also notes that internet providers can wield significant influence because they control access, pricing and the conditions of service.

Mhaka places this in a wider context of digital dependence, warning that if connectivity is tied to cloud storage, analytics and artificial intelligence services controlled abroad, data and value may flow out of the region while control stays elsewhere. The article cites examples including Facebook’s Free Basics experiment, as well as public infrastructure responses in Brazil and regulatory limits in Namibia, to show that governments can use policy and state investment to preserve more local control.

The central argument is that satellite internet may be part of the solution to exclusion, but countries in the Global South should avoid replacing one access gap with a new form of technological dependence.