Elon Musk’s Starlink More Expensive than Local Internet Service in Nigeria

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink has been revealed to be more expensive than the local internet services in Nigeria.

This was revealed after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted Starlink the license to function in Nigeria.

In a statement contained by the NCC, it was learned that the service had been granted two licenses to operate in the country.

Investors King gathered that the two licenses include the International Gateway license and Internet Service Provider (ISP) license, of which both will be trading as Starlink Internet Services Nigeria Ltd.

Further findings revealed that the International Gateway license is valid for ten years, whereas the ISP license is valid for five years, according to NCC. Both licenses become effective from May 2022.

The tech billionaire, Elon Musk affirmed the operation in Nigeria with a tweet stating “Starlink approved by Nigeria and Mozambique.”

Starlink provides much-needed competition to Nigerian telecom providers MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9Mobile, which have been forced to compete against one other without upgrading their internet service.

However, Starlink is a more expensive choice than existing equivalent internet services in Nigeria, which cost an average of N20,761 ($50). It costs ($599)  N248,716 for a full kit, which includes a terminal, mounting tripod, and Wi-Fi router, plus $110 (N60,500) for purchase and monthly membership. The whole kit costs around $2,500 (1.375 million) and $500 (275,000) per month for its premium service.

This price range is considered to be out of reach for the average Nigerian unless it presents a unique offering for the Nigerian market.

The first 60 Starlink satellites were launched by SpaceX in 2019. Since then, over 2,000 have entered orbit, forming part of a constellation of over 12,000 stars. The initiative, dubbed Starlink, promises to offer high-speed internet to every part of the globe.

In January 2015, Elon Musk,  revealed the Starlink concept, indicating that the business planned to launch only around 4,000 broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit to provide low-cost internet. Before Starlink, there were only roughly 2,000 operational satellites in orbit, and humanity has only launched around 9,000 vessels into space throughout history.