TechCabal Daily – Google pulls a gun on Starlink

Intentions don’t mean much unless actions follow. But Nigeria’s information minister, Mohammed Idris, may be working overtime to let the world know that the country has its sights set on becoming a cryptocurrency central.

On March 12, the minister published an opinion piece on the crypto publication Cointelegraph, stating that under President Bola Tinubu, the country is seeking to balance innovation with “robust” regulation.

Nigeria is also reportedly engaging with industry stakeholders to learn how to use blockchain technology to improve the manual systems that exist in land registries, identity management, and supply chain.

Again, on March 21, Idris told Semafor that despite what looked like a Binance witch-hunt for close to eleven months in 2024—culminating in an $80 billion lawsuit that is sitting in court—the country is trying to adopt a pro-crypto stance. He claimed that there are more crypto companies operating in the country, likely signaling that the government is aware of crypto startups that operate within regulatory grey areas.

It is not out of place for people to be critical of Nigeria for its anti-crypto history, but these statements strongly signify that Nigeria is turning a new leaf on crypto. Yet, it would need to turn these reassurances into actions if it hopes to regain industry confidence. It has now been seven months since the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted the first—and only—batch of provisional licences under its startup incubator programme, which is expected to be the country’s pathway to legally regulating the crypto industry.

For now, Nigeria’s pro-crypto rhetoric outweighs its concrete actions. If it wants to be seen as a true crypto hub, it must move beyond statements and create a clear, functioning legal framework—one that not only attracts investment but also provides clarity for businesses operating in the space.

MTN is cutting back on network investments in South Africa, reducing its core network investments by R4.1 billion ($225 million) in 2025. That brings its budget to between R5.7 billion ($313 million) and R6.7 billion ($367 million)—about 19% of the group’s total capital expenditure (CAPEX). Its competitor, Vodacom, by contrast, plans to spend up to R11.2 billion ($614 million).

Network quality depends on consistent investment. MTN currently leads in South Africa, but maintaining that position requires continuous upgrades. The company says its network has enough capacity and that it needs to see returns on the R4.5 billion ($247 million) it spent on its network resilience during load-shedding.

Prepaid services remain a challenge. While MTN’s contract and business segments are performing well, prepaid revenue is struggling in two major regions. The company sees growth elsewhere, but competition in prepaid is intense, and lower investment could make it harder to keep up.

MTN’s move in South Africa is surprising because MTN Nigeria, its subsidiary business—which lost its spot as the group’s top revenue generator in 2024 owing to losses—is taking a different approach. Instead of cutting back, the telecom operator is increasing investment in its core network in Nigeria where it controls more than half of the market share.

Despite its dominance, MTN Nigeria is not trying to take any chances as strong competition from internet service providers (ISPs) like Starlink is likely a factor. The telecom operator isn’t betting that Nigerians will ditch satellite internet just because it’s expensive.

While South Africa doesn’t have a Starlink problem to deal with, it could still be underestimating the infrastructure gap that this move could expose it to. Yet, if history has taught us anything, telecom dominance is a “use it or lose it” business. These are the kinds of decisions we’ll only know were genius or unwise in hindsight; MTN South Africa just wants to grow its profit margin—not a bad incentive.

Google has a laser solution to your internet problem. 

While Elon Musk is busy blanketing Earth with satellites, Google just pulled out a laser gun. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, recently spun out Taara Lightbridge, a new internet service that hopes to provide high-speed internet to Africa’s 860 million population without reliable internet service. 

Unlike Elon Musk’s Starlink, which relies on satellites to provide internet services, Taraa uses lasers to blast the internet through the air. Think of it as an invisible fiber cable in the sky: instead of transmitting light through glass fibers, Taraa uses a technology called Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) which allows it to send narrow beams of light through the air, achieving speeds up to 20 gigabytes per second (Gbps) over distances of up to 20 kilometers.

The internet service provider (ISP), which is currently in its testing phase, is operational across 12 countries globally and plans to scale its operation across Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.

Unlike Starlink, which is useful in remote villages, disaster zones, and off-grid locations, Taara is not built as a last-mile solution. It is designed to support the existing infrastructure of other ISPs and telcos, bridging gaps where laying fiber is difficult or impossible (e.g., across rivers or rugged terrain). While Starlink is direct-to-consumer, Taara partners with ISPs and telcos to support existing networks. Taara’s model is also potentially cheaper to deploy at scale.

While Starlink relies on hardware that costs an arm and a leg, Taara is betting on cheaper, ground-based infrastructure. Its free-space optical tech shoots light beams across up to 20 km. The catch? It needs a clear line of sight, so rain, fog, or a tall tree can ruin your Zoom call. 

In the end, Africa doesn’t need to pick a side. It needs an internet that works—laser, satellite, or whatever gets the job done.

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