Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service provider, has raised prices for its Nigerian residential and personal customers. According to THE WHISTLER, the corporation increased the subscription price by an astounding 97.36%.
Just one week has passed since Starlink debuted a more reasonably priced internet kit in Kenya, priced at $208.38, combined with a $30.87 (N49,422) monthly household subscription plan. Now, there has been a sharp increase.
Customers in Nigeria received an email from Starlink on October 1, 2024, informing them that a price modification was necessary due to “excessive levels of inflation.”
For current subscribers, the new monthly subscription costs will go into effect on October 31, 2024; however, new subscribers will be charged higher rates right away.
The email states that the monthly cost of the Standard (Residential) plan has increased from N38,000 to N75,000.
The monthly cost of the Mobile–Global (Global Roam) plan has increased to N717,000, while the Mobile–Regional (Roam Unlimited) plan is now N167,000.
Starlink’s hardware, which was previously priced at N440,000, is now going to cost N590,000
THE NEWS CHRONICLES’ checks reveal that the corporation has already updated its website with the new information.
The price increase coincides with heightened competition in the internet industry in Africa. Recent increases in fiber internet speeds by Kenya’s local ISP Safaricom are thought to be a direct reaction to Starlink’s arrival into the market.
Additionally, Safaricom unveiled a KES 20,000 ($155) high-end 1Gbps plan for busy internet customers.
Safaricom, which has 14,000 km of fiber optic cable connecting it to about 400,000 clients, is allegedly getting ready to introduce its own satellite internet service in order to maintain its competitive edge against foreign rivals such as Starlink.
In the meanwhile, Nigerian price adjustments extend beyond residential developments. Starlink updated its corporate subscription options, adding a new tier and changing the ones that already existed.
The “Priority – 40GB” option is now available in the new business plans for N50,000 per month. The “Priority – 1TB” and “Priority – 2TB” plans are still available for N80,000 and N159,000 per month, respectively.
Notably, as of the time TNC checked, Starlink’s website no longer listed the previously offered “Priority – 6TB plan,” which costs N474,000 per month.
Price modifications have been made by Starlink in Nigeria before.
The internet router was once priced at N800,000, but in April the company cut the price of its gear by 45%. The N38,000 monthly subscription price was the same at that time.
A month earlier, Starlink raised the price of the gear by 112%, from N378,000 to N800,000. It is thought that this rise was prompted by the Naira’s depreciation in relation to the US dollar.
According to the CBN website, the value of the Nigerian Naira has been steadily declining since the start of 2024. It went from N907 to a dollar in December 2023 to N1,601 to a dollar as of October 1, 2024, in the official market.
Since its January 2023 launch in Nigeria, Starlink has experienced a rise in customer base despite its higher prices as compared to local ISPs.
