Senegalese authorities on Monday arrested five people for selling Starlink terminals without the necessary authorization or licence.
The five individuals detained by the National Police’s Department of Urban Security could receive up to five years in prison and a 60 million CFA ($100,000) fine.
The telecommunications regulatory body has also issued a warning to any service providers in the country who are promoting Starlink and any other business engaging in comparable activities.
Elon Musk founded the American private space exploration business SpaceX, which has developed Starlink, an internet system that can transmit speeds of up to 150 Mbps with only a clear sky.
Its terminals would eliminate the necessity for a telecom provider by allowing the Senegalese to access the internet through satellite. Therefore, Starlink customers could still access the internet if the government decided to once again halt it. On the other hand, Starlink’s website states that the ISP is not accessible in Senegal.
The Senegalese government has cracked down repeatedly to keep its citizens under control, and this arrest comes after a string of crackdowns. The country recently banned TikTok on the allegations that it’s being used to propagate crisis.
