Musk Cuts Internet Price Of Starlink By 45% In Nigeria
Elon Musk has slashed the price of his internet service company, Starlink, by 45% in Nigeria. This was revealed in a new price update released by the company last Wednesday.
According to the price update, the Starlink internet router, which was being sold for about N800,000 as of April 9, now costs about N440,000, However, the monthly subscription for the internet service remains unchanged at N38,000 per month.
Until about a month later, the hardware had been selling for N378,000. An increment implemented in early March apparently due to the declining value of the naira saw the price rise to N800,000.
While the company did not state any reason for the price slash, the recent appreciation of the naira against the US dollar and other foreign currencies may have influenced Starlink’s decision.
Also, according to reports by Nairametrics, SpaceX’s internet company also slashed its hardware price in South Africa as well. Although Starlink is not licensed in South Africa, where Musk was born, South Africans are accessing its service locally using a global or regional roaming subscription.
Confirming that it indeed has a market in the country, Starlink in an advertisement on X earlier this week, said it had slashed its hardware price from ZAR 12,000 to ZAR 6,800, representing a 43% decrease.
Despite its higher costs compared with local ISPs, Starlink, which announced its presence in Nigeria in January 2023, has sparked high interest among Nigerians who are eager to change their service providers.
The global reach of its satellite service also encourages people in areas with poor internet networks to go for Starlink.
According to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Starlink is now one of the leading ISPs in Nigeria in terms of customer numbers. As of Q3 2023, Starlink Nigeria’s customer base stood at 11,207.
Many local ISPs that have been in operation in Nigeria for several years are currently having less than that number of customers.
Although Starlink officially announced its presence in Nigeria in January 2023, Nigerians had been pre-ordering its hardware since 2022. The company, which initially quoted its prices in dollars at $600 for the hardware and $43 for the subscription, changed to naira upon its official announcement.