Starlink team in Iraq for final licensing talks

• Mohammed Al-Sudani met delegation
• Final stages of granting licences
• Starlink ready to begin operations

Starlink, a US satellite-based internet provider owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has sent its executives to Iraq to prepare for entry into the lucrative Arab market.

Iraqi caretaker prime minister Mohammed Al-Sudani met the delegation in Baghdad on Thursday.

The talks covered the “final stages of granting satellite internet licences” to Starlink’s SpaceX, Sudani’s information office said in a statement.

“The two sides stressed the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of communications and the services provided by the company and its coverage areas,” said the statement published on its website.

The statement quoted a Starlink executive as saying the company is ready to begin operations and provide satellite internet services to Iraq within a short period.

Starlink’s services are currently not available in Iraq, which has a population of about 46 million, but there have been discussions and expressions of interest in bringing Starlink to Iraq, particularly to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and improve internet access.

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Starlink, which operates in more than 125 countries, has sought to expand into the Middle East and North Africa, where telecommunication services are growing fast.

In September, Lebanon agreed to grant an operation licence to Starlink as the country strives to recover from a severe financial crisis.

Early this year, Starlink also had talks with Morocco to launch a project in the Sahara. The project could bring significant dynamism to Morocco’s southern provinces by providing high-speed satellite-backed internet, the local media report said this year.