Elon Musk’s Starlink Gets License In This Nation Hit By Blackouts And Economic Crisis, Name Is…

Lebanon has approved a license for Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite-based internet services. The nation has been struggling with poor infrastructure and an ongoing economic crisis.

Information Minister Paul Morcos announced on Thursday that Starlink, operated by Musk’s company SpaceX, will soon deliver internet connectivity across Lebanon. The decision comes nearly three months after Musk spoke directly with President Joseph Aoun about helping Lebanon’s telecommunications and internet sectors.

At the same Cabinet meeting, the government also appointed long-awaited regulatory authorities for the electricity and telecom sectors. This move is being seen as a major reform step. International organisations have long demanded Lebanon establish an independent regulator for its corruption-plagued electricity sector.

The electricity regulator was supposed to be named more than 20 years ago, but delays by politicians kept stalling the process. Experts say this reform is essential for fixing a sector that wastes more than $1 billion every year in the small Mediterranean nation.

State-run Electricite du Liban (EDL) has been described as one of the most wasteful institutions in the country. Since the end of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, it has cost the state nearly $40 billion. Political interference and mismanagement have left the sector broken, forcing citizens to live with daily blackouts.

President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who took office earlier this year, have promised to push for reforms and fight corruption. They are also seeking international support to help Lebanon emerge from an economic collapse that the World Bank has called one of the worst globally since the 1850s.

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