Tesla Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, is expected to launch Starlink before the end of the year.
This development is said to have left many local competitors on the edge of their seats.
Given that satellites have the ability to penetrate into rural areas where many of the competitors currently have little to no significant presence, some local operators who did not want to be named said part of their end-of-year strategy is studying how Starlink plans to disrupt the Nigerian market.
Some users who pre-ordered the Starlink package before it launched, however, claimed it is too expensive. Tobenna, an unnamed software engineer, tweeted that he paid $99 for Starlink’s presale in August. He had to pay a further $501 to confirm the transaction when the business contacted him for delivery, bringing the total up to $600 (or N267,978 at the current exchange rate of N446/$). He had to pay $43 a month for a subscription (N19,205.09).
According to Business Day, Nigeria may receive a discount on the $43. Depending on whether they want residential, RV, or commercial satellite internet, Starlink users in various countries, such as the United States, pay between $110 and $500 per month (for fast speeds of 50-500).
Competitors anticipate a price decrease in Nigeria in 2023 as Starlink seeks to expand its user base across the country. However, at the current pricing, a “child” in Ohafia would have to wait several years before being able to afford Starlink’s internet, as personal finance expert Kalu Aja once highlighted.
Furthermore, Starlink may not pose significant threat to existing large operators such as MTN, which offers some of the market’s most competitive prices.