Elon Musk’s satellite company SpaceX has reduced the costs of its hardware and subscription plan to N274,098 and N19,260 per month, respectively.
Recall that Nairametrics previously reported that Starlink had set $600 and $43 as its hardware and monthly subscription cost, respectively, which comes out to roughly N438,000 and N31,000 at the parallel market rate.
Some NigeriaThose who pre-ordered the hardware last year paid the initial dollar amount. But the company’s prices are now quoted in naira, meaning Nigerians can make payments with their debit card in naira.
First in Africa: With the official announcement, Nigeria becomes the first African country to witness the launch of Starlink.
Recall that the Minister had stated last week that Nigeria has reached 100% broadband coverage with the operation of Starlink, whose satellite service covers the length and breadth of the country. According to him, through the National Broadband Plan (NIBP 2020-2025) Nigeria was targeting 90% broadband coverage by 2025 and this was achieved ahead of time through Starlink licensing as Nigerians can now have high speed internet access from any part of the country.
Increased Competition: With the price cuts, competition in the internet service provisioning space in Nigeria is expected to become tougher as Starlink now challenges companies like mtnAirtel, Globacom, 9mobile and hundreds of Internet Service Providers in Nigeria providing services through different technologies including fiber and satellite.
Starlink’s speed is its selling point: The company said on its website that Nigerians on Starlink will see download speeds of 50-200 Mbps. An early user of the service in Nigeria, Bello Gbadebo, had attested to the speed saying it got around 20 Mbps on initial test and then went up to around 240 Mbps.
Credit: https://nairametrics.com/2023/01/31/elon-musks-starlink-slashes-hardware-subscription-costs-for-nigerians/
