The share of satellite Internet traffic through the Starlink network tripled in the second quarter of this year in Cape Verde, according to ARME. The operator represented 6% of the traffic shortly after debuting in the archipelago in the second quarter of 2025, and grew to 18% between April and June this year.
© Lusa
23/10/2026
by
Lusa
A share of satellite Internet traffic through the Starlink network tripled in the second quarter of this year in Cape Verde, in homologous terms, according to the latest data from the Multisectoral Economics Regulatory Authority (ARME).
The operator represented 6% of Internet traffic shortly after debuting in the archipelago in the second quarter of 2025, and grew to 18% between April and June this year.
In the same period, the traffic share of the state operator Cabo Verde Telecom dropped from 89% to 78% and that of Unitel went from 6% to 4%.
CV Telecom and Unitel are the two brands with mobile networks and offer fiber with pay TV in the country.
Traffic represents the volume of information circulating on the Internet, both upwards (“upload”), when someone sends a message or shares a file via a virtual folder, e.g. downhill (“download”), pulling attachments, looking up pages, playing or watching movies (which generate more traffic).
The satellite network Starlink now accounts for almost a fifth of Internet traffic in the country, although it still does not reach a 1% of Internet access subscriptions.
The technology most used by Cape Verdeans to consult information is mobile phones, causing CV Telecom to have 73% of Internet access subscriptions and Unitel has 27%, reflecting the trend in the market of SIM cards (phone cards).
The figures suggest that, on average, much more information circulates on each satellite network signature than on other forms of Internet connection in Cape Verde.
ARME statistics are based on a unified questionnaire sent to operators.