In a tweet on Friday, Elon Musk revealed that the satellite internet service Starlink, created by SpaceX, the firm he founded to do space research, had been licensed for use in Nigeria and Mozambique.
This news announcement comes three days after Elon Musk replied to a tweet concerning the start of the service in Africa.
“Yes, first countries in Africa to be announced coming soon,” he tweeted. “Starlink will serve everywhere on Earth that we are legally allowed to serve.”
Starlink is active in more than 30 countries where it is legally permitted to do business, which means that it possesses the necessary licenses to do business there and offers internet services.
Since 2021, preparations have been made for the launch of the product across Africa, with a special focus on Nigeria. In May of this year, SpaceX sent some representatives to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecommunications regulator, to discuss the possibility of obtaining a license to operate Starlink in Nigeria. The NCC is the country’s governing body for the telecommunications industry.
The news that the NCC has granted approval for this license, as reported by the local press and Nairametrics, lends credence to Musk’s tweet from earlier today. According to the publication, the license that Starlink Internet Services Nigeria Ltd. (its trading name) has obtained is in the category of Internet Service Provider (ISP) — other service providers such as telcos and private operators also fall within this category — and it has a duration of ten years beginning in May 2022.
The Nigerian telecom carriers MTN and Airtel, among others, have been forced to compete against each other without enhancing the quality of their internet service; Starlink adds this much-needed competition to the industry.
However, one thing may be said against Starlink: the price. Starlink’s price is too high for the typical user in Nigeria and Mozambique, coming in at around $110 (60,500) for preorder and $599 (330,000) for a complete kit. The full kit consists of a terminal, mounting tripod, and Wi-Fi router. Its premium service has a one-time setup fee of around $2,500 and a monthly fee of approximately $500.