In May 2022, Elon Musk announced in a tweet that Starlink had gotten approval in Nigeria and Mozambique. On January 30th, 2023, Starlink announced via tweet that it had launched operations in Nigeria, marking its debut in Africa.
Starlink initially priced its hardware at $600 and its monthly subscription at $43, equivalent to N438,000 and N31,000. In a country with a minimum wage salary of N30,000 and a poverty rate of over 60%, the product was out of reach for most individuals. Another limitation was that the service could only be paid for in US Dollars, while most banks restrict dollar transactions on Naira cards.
Last week, Starlink slashed their hardware price and subscription for Nigeria to N274,098 and N19,260 respectively. The prices were also quoted in Naira which means payment can now be made with Naira debit cards.
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According to the company’s website, Nigerians will see a download speed of 50-200 Mbps depending on their location. Starlink will likely pose a significant challenge to Nigerian ISPs such as MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile, given reports of Nigerians achieving download speeds of around 250 Mbps with the service. And presently, the only competing service for fast internet speed is MTN 5G.
MTN 5G claims to have a speed as high as 1Gbps, with some users claiming to enjoy download speeds as high as 900 Mbps using the MTN 5G router.
Starlink vs MTN 5G: How Do They Compare?
The MTN 5G router is currently priced at N50,000, making it less than 20% of the cost of Starlink hardware, and MTN’s 5G network is also compatible with 5G-enabled phones. However, MTN offers a 200GB data plan for N25,000 and a 1.5TB plan for N150,000, while Starlink’s unlimited data subscription costs N19,260.
Also, MTN 5G is currently available in just over 500 sites across nine states in Nigeria, however, Starlink service is available in every location in Nigeria whether rural or urban. Starlink had gotten approval to be a High Throughput Satellite (HTS) Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Operator in the Nigerian Telecommunications sector.
MTN’s 5G router and Starlink’s 5G router require electricity to operate, a scarce resource in Nigeria. Unlike MTN’s Hynet Flex router which came with a rechargeable external 4000mAH battery, MTN’s 5G router comes with no battery and no power bank.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, stated that the arrival of Starlink in Nigeria has resulted in every part of the country having access to broadband connectivity, far ahead of their planned goal for 2025.
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“As part of the partnership, Space X is to provide broadband access across the whole of Nigeria, enabling nationwide access to broadband connectivity way ahead of the December 2025 schedule, as outlined in our National Broadband Plan. With this collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, Nigeria is set to be the 1st African country to introduce the service,” he noted.
At present, MTN and Starlink appear to be leading the market for fast internet speeds in Nigeria, but other companies are waiting in the wings. One such company is Mafab Communications which won the 5G spectrum license alongside MTN and is set to go live with the 5G network in 6 Nigerian cities. Airtel Nigeria recently obtained a 5G spectrum license from the NCC and is anticipated to roll out its 5G network for Nigerians by the end of 2023.
