Starlink is now Kenya’s eighth largest internet provider. It has surpassed established players such as Liquid Telecommunications. According to the latest data released by Kenya’s Communications Authority, Elon Musk’s company has grown to 16,746 customers and gained a market share of 1.1%.
Starlink has grown from being the tenth biggest ISP in June of 2024 to dominating Kenya’s satellite Internet market. Other satellite ISPs such as Viasat Indigo Telecom and NTvsat may be forced out of the market because they have less than 300 customers.
Starlink’s rapid growth drives the demand for high-speed Internet in Kenya, particularly for homes and businesses not served by fixed broadband. Starlink’s rapid growth has however raised some policy concerns.
Kenya’s telecom regulator has proposed to tenfold the charges for satellite internet service providers. The move comes amid increasing concerns from rival ISPs including Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, and Jamii Telecoms about Starlink’s rapid rise.
According to the proposed regulations, the cost of a license for 15 years would be increased from $12,302 up to $115 331 and a 0.4% annual levy would be introduced on gross revenue. The strict rules may benefit established ISPs, but hurt smaller players. Satellite ISPs such as Viasat or NTvsat could struggle with higher costs and a slow expansion in remote regions. They may also be forced off the market, as they have less than 300 customers.
Starlink began routing African users in December 2024 through a dedicated ground station located in Nairobi, Kenya. This facility is known as a “point of presence,” where its space-based internet infrastructure connects with terrestrial internet infrastructure. Starlink users report that this upgrade has improved performance. The average latency of users in Kenya has dropped from 120 milliseconds to just 26 milliseconds. The firm has revamped its pricing to attract more subscribers. Starlink, for example, launched a 50GB plan at $10 (KES 1,300), which was cheaper than Airtel’s $23 bundles (KES 3,00) and Safaricom $39 bundles (KES 5,00).
The company will introduce a hardware rental program in August 2024 to reduce entry costs. Starlink plans to launch satellites by 2025, which will deliver internet directly to mobile devices. This will eliminate the need for hardware kits.
