Starlink is a versatile satellite internet network provider with agile capabilities, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, spanning a wider global coverage under the operation of Starlink Services LLC. The satellite internet service provider, unlike the cable internet network corporations, has gripped the internet market with it’s reliability, high latency, and dynamic cost effectiveness. Starlink has so far covered over 80 countries globally, with African countries being the latest market target, jolting major mobile service providers like Safaricom, Airtel, and Vodacom, among others.
Recently, Starlink introduced a new affordable data package of 50 gigabytes (GB) at $10.16, which is Ksh1300 based on the current exchange rate for consumers in Kenya, which could dethrone the likes of Safaricom, Telcom, and Airtel, whose data plans are a little bit higher. However, Kenya and Mozambique still pay the highest Sarlink set up fees in Africa, with installing hardware kits costing the most.
The satellite internet service provider, however, has only covered six sub-Saharan countries, and many businesses and households are still not able to acquire it’s service due to the hardware costs. Going forward in the near future, consumers in these countries are expecting lower hardware installation and package costs, which would see many people ditching the biggest market shareholders for Starlink.
A residential hardware kit with a monthly data package of ksh130/m currently costs ksh45,ooo in Kenya, payable through Safaricom and Airtel mobile money transfers. The ROAM plan hardware kit costs Ksh45,000 with a monthly subscription of Ksh14,000/m. BOATS, with a download speed of up to 220 MBPS, 25+ MBPS uploads, and a latency of less than 99 MS, costs Ksh377,000 for hardware with a monthly subscription of Ksh34,910 for Kenyan consumers.
