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Starlink is now available in Kenya. The Tesla CEO made the announcement in a Twitter statement on Tuesday just moments after Starlink had made a similar statement.
“Starlink for sale in Kenya! Note, buying a Starlink with global roaming allows you to travel almost anywhere,” said Musk.
“Starlink is now available in Kenya,” said the internet service provider operated by Musk’s spacecraft corporation, SpaceX.
Starlink for sale in Kenya!
Note, buying a Starlink with global roaming allows you to travel almost anywhere. https://t.co/Gg8krpPpwY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2023
What to know about Starlink
1. Countries Covered
Kenya joins the ranks of the other five African nations—Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Sierra Leone—that will now enjoy these services. Additionally, the service is offered in at least 45 other nations throughout the world.
Over the past, Kenyans have continuously ranted on social media about expensive data plans, poor internet connections, and lack of internet and even mobile networks in some of the rural areas. This affected election results transmission in the past election.
Read: Starlink deploys satellite internet in Rwanda
In Kenya, high-speed internet – 5G and 4G – is only available in the major cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and some urban towns. The announcement came as a relief to many.
The average price for a 5-megabytes-per-second (Mbps) internet service is Ksh2,000 ($14) monthly. Ten Mbps costs an average of Ksh3,500 ($25) monthly, while 20 Mbps costs Ksh4,500 ($32).
2. Starlink’s Installation Cost
Leading telecoms provider Safaricom in Kenya charges Ksh6,300 ($44) per month for 40 Mbps and Ksh12,500 ($88) per month for 100 Mbps internet.
For home internet service, including the connection, Starlink charges considerably more. A Kenyan customer will need to spend Ksh89,000 ($628) on the necessary equipment to enable connections, and the monthly membership fee will be at least Ksh6,500 ($46). The download speed varies from 20 Mbps to 200 Mbps, with 65 Mbps serving as the global average.
For a new connection, Safaricom charges Ksh3,000 ($21), Faiba Ksh15,000 ($106), and Zuku does not charge for new connections.
The country’s authorized Starlink reseller is a Kenyan business called Karibu Connect. Karibu Connect stated on their website.
“We are providing a plug-and-play solution assisted by SpaceX’s huge satellite installation in the lower earth orbit that provides connectivity to the most remote areas of the continent.”
At least 20 million individuals use the various web platforms each month in Kenya, one of the most internet-active nations in Africa.
3. How It works
Starlink uses thousands of satellites that are located in orbit to send signals. To deliver high-speed broadband internet services, these satellites send signals to other satellites and ground stations.
Musk wants to increase the availability of internet services and space communication by launching up to 40,000 satellites across the globe. This service can provide internet access in places with weak network connections and at disaster sites.
“Starlink is ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable,” the Starlink main page says.
What Else to Know Satellite Internet
Starlink’s kit comes in three trim levels; Standard for “residential users and everyday internet applications” like streaming, video calls, and online gaming; High Performance for “power user, business, and enterprise applications”.
This kit allows better speeds at high temperatures, can connect to more satellites, and is more resilient to extreme environments.
Also Read: Fuliza Ya Biashara; Safaricom Launches A New Product
The most sophisticated of them all, the Flat High-Performance kit, targets “mobility applications and challenging environments”.
Starlink says this option has a wide field of view and enhanced GPS capabilities, it can connect to more satellites to allow for consistent connectivity while on the go, and the hardware is designed for a permanent installation and is more resilient to extreme environments.
The kit comes with the Starlink dish, mounting tripod, Wi-Fi router, router mount, power supply, power supply mount, and cables.
