“200 Starlink” promised by François Bayrou in Mayotte: why the Prime Minister's choice of this technology is controversial

François Bayrou a annoncé le déploiement de 200 terminaux Starlink à Mayotte (photo d’illustration). imagebroker – MAXPPP

François Bayrou announced on Monday, December 30, 2024, the deployment of 200 Starlink terminals in Mayotte to meet urgent communication needs in areas affected by Cyclone Chido. The satellite network of Elon Musk's Space X company was chosen.

He assured that he wanted to deploy “200 Starlink” in Mayotte to enable “emergency communications”. This is one of the announcements made by Prime Minister François Bayrou during his trip to Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido, on Monday, December 30, 2024. His plan, called “Mayotte debout”, includes a series of measures aimed in particular at improving access to the mobile network and the internet.

“High-speed connection”

Starlink is a subsidiary, American therefore, of the company Space X, of Elon Musk. Starlink has a “constellation of satellites […] to provide a high-speed internet connection […] to users around the world”, summarizes the Starlink site.

This deployment should therefore allow the inhabitants of Mayotte to be able to call, send SMS and connect to the internet.

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The announcement of the choice of Starlink particularly irritated the main French operator of the island, Orange, notes in particular The Telegram.

“Heurtés”

“We are not asking for a medal (although the merits of our collaborators on site would be worthy of official recognition from the Nation). But we are all shocked by a communication from the Government that focuses its announcements on temporary wifi by starlink, yet much less covering and efficient than a mobile network”, deplored Laurentino Lavezzi, director of public affairs for the Orange group on X, also owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

5G within 2 years ?

“Thus, the electric generators are directed as a priority towards the Starlink wifi hot-points, while generators are refused to the operators. With only four electric generators, the Orange mobile coverage would increase from 75% to 85% of the population”, he continued on the social network, questioning the “relevance” of the government's decisions in pursuing the restoration of the networks.

Marc Ferracci, French Minister of Industry and Energy, reacted in turn on X to “welcome the investment of the technicians mobilized to restore the electricity and telecommunications networks to reconnect our fellow citizens and this in conditions difficult”.

“A lot has already been done”

“A lot has already been done, thanks to the unwavering commitment of employees present on site or dispatched from other departments: more than 70% of the population has mobile coverage; SIM cards and free packages have been distributed; Wi-Fi and satellite solutions have been offered to communities Much remains to be done”.

In the longer term, Mayotte should benefit from the deployment of 5G and optical fiber, “within two years” with a delegation whose role will be to “control the deployment” of these two technologies, the Prime Minister also announced, as reported in particular by BFM.