Starlink's Satellite Internet is Cheaper than Leading ISPs in Five African Countries (restofworld.org) 29
"In at least five of the 16 African countries where the service is available, a monthly Starlink subscription is cheaper than the leading fixed internet service provider," reports Rest of World.
"Starlink, launched in 2019 by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has become the leading satellite internet provider in the world." Now available in more than 100 countries, Starlink can also be a relatively affordable option for users trying to log on in countries with limited internet service providers... A Rest of World analysis indicates that in at least five of the 16 African countries where the service is available, a monthly Starlink subscription is cheaper than the leading fixed internet service provider... [Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Cape Verde — though not including the upfront costs of Starlink hardware.]
Historically, internet connections around the globe have typically been enabled by ground-based internet service providers using fiber-optic cables and mobile base stations. But in many parts of the world, that infrastructure is sparse or nonexistent. "This is where satellite providers come in," said Nitinder Mohan, a computer science professor at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands who has studied Starlink's performance around the world. "I can be in the middle of a forest and, if I have a direct view of the sky, I can get my internet connectivity," he told Rest of World. "Regions which are previously underconnected — where there was no way of getting internet connectivity to them — now with these satellites, you can actually enable that...." According to the latest figures by the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency focused on information and communication technologies, 38% of the population in Africa uses the internet, compared to 91% of Europe...
Since launching in Kenya in July 2023, Starlink has disrupted the existing internet service provider industry. Starlink offers high connectivity speeds and wide availability in remote areas, along with dramatically lower prices. The company also introduced a rental option... Starlink has become so popular in Kenya that the company paused new subscriptions in major cities in early November due to network overload. The company plans to deploy more infrastructure in Nairobi and Johannesburg in order to bring more people online, said Mohan, the computer science professor at Delft University.
Starlink is less than half the cost of the leading ISP in Kenya Ghana, and especially in Zimbabwe (where the difference is dramatic):
Starlink: $30
Leading ISP in Zimbabwe: $633.62
Now in Kenya legacy telecom providers like Safaricom "have responded by lowering prices and increasing internet speeds," according to the article. The head of the research wing of the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association even told Rest of World ISPS are also developing their own satellite networks (like Vodacom's partnership with satellite mobile network AST SpaceMobile) — though ironically, AST SpaceMobile launched its first satellites with the help of SpaceX.
"Starlink, launched in 2019 by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has become the leading satellite internet provider in the world." Now available in more than 100 countries, Starlink can also be a relatively affordable option for users trying to log on in countries with limited internet service providers... A Rest of World analysis indicates that in at least five of the 16 African countries where the service is available, a monthly Starlink subscription is cheaper than the leading fixed internet service provider... [Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Cape Verde — though not including the upfront costs of Starlink hardware.]
Historically, internet connections around the globe have typically been enabled by ground-based internet service providers using fiber-optic cables and mobile base stations. But in many parts of the world, that infrastructure is sparse or nonexistent. "This is where satellite providers come in," said Nitinder Mohan, a computer science professor at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands who has studied Starlink's performance around the world. "I can be in the middle of a forest and, if I have a direct view of the sky, I can get my internet connectivity," he told Rest of World. "Regions which are previously underconnected — where there was no way of getting internet connectivity to them — now with these satellites, you can actually enable that...." According to the latest figures by the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency focused on information and communication technologies, 38% of the population in Africa uses the internet, compared to 91% of Europe...
Since launching in Kenya in July 2023, Starlink has disrupted the existing internet service provider industry. Starlink offers high connectivity speeds and wide availability in remote areas, along with dramatically lower prices. The company also introduced a rental option... Starlink has become so popular in Kenya that the company paused new subscriptions in major cities in early November due to network overload. The company plans to deploy more infrastructure in Nairobi and Johannesburg in order to bring more people online, said Mohan, the computer science professor at Delft University.
Starlink is less than half the cost of the leading ISP in Kenya Ghana, and especially in Zimbabwe (where the difference is dramatic):
Starlink: $30
Leading ISP in Zimbabwe: $633.62
Now in Kenya legacy telecom providers like Safaricom "have responded by lowering prices and increasing internet speeds," according to the article. The head of the research wing of the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association even told Rest of World ISPS are also developing their own satellite networks (like Vodacom's partnership with satellite mobile network AST SpaceMobile) — though ironically, AST SpaceMobile launched its first satellites with the help of SpaceX.
The only solution to this (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Starlink is heavily subsidized by the US government in the form of various multi-billion contracts to schpace yikes.
The goal is the same as always, undercut the competition, kill it, and then be a monopoly.
The second-oldest trade practice after outright robbery :)
Re:The only solution to this (Score:4, Interesting)
Not at all. On those contracts, Starlink is massively undercutting the competition and saving the government billions. That's just facts, not an endorsement of you-know-who.
Re: (Score:2)
And you think that will stay that way? As soon as the victims have become dependent, the prices will raise. Oldest trick in the book.
Re: (Score:3)
https://www.wesh.com/article/b... [wesh.com]
Re: (Score:2)
LOL, another tech bro who doesn't understand how subsidies work.
Re: (Score:1)
It is not. Obviously. Although that particular cretin has far less power than he thinks he has.
Re: (Score:1)
It is a great idea, and it was executed beautifully by the US Democratic party leadership, Obama in particular.
Has Nancy's hubby sold his Tesla holdings?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
A capitalist technologist has found a way to reduce the cost of internet access for impoverished Africans, dramatically increasing their ability to learn and develop independently.
Leftists on Slashdot would prefer that the impoverished Africans remain impoverished, dependent, and out of reach of the internet because they hate capitalism that much.
Re: (Score:1)
A capitalist technologist has found a way to reduce the cost of internet access for impoverished Africans, dramatically increasing their ability to learn and develop independently.
Leftists on Slashdot would prefer that the impoverished Africans remain impoverished, dependent, and out of reach of the internet because they hate capitalism that much.
It's sad when the mentally ill figure out to use a computer.
Nice example for a market failure (Score:2)
It does not only happen in countries that mistakenly think they are tech-leaders...
Re: (Score:2)
https://datarep [datareportal.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I guess "internet service" doesn't mean the same thing or play the same role as here, because:
https://datareportal.com/repor... [datareportal.com]
Anybody think 32.6% of people in Zimbabwe are paying $633.62 per month for internet?
Not unless they're mixing USD and ZWL. If this site [paynow.co.zw] isn't hopelessly out of date, then it sounds like there are a decent number of "unlimited" plans for not a whole lot more than their $30 number, but with caps on video streaming resolution from major sites and other similar limitations. For Starlink speeds, probably more like $70 a month.
So maybe somebody moved the decimal point?
Is my sky different than Kenya's? (Score:2)
Residential Lite is KES4000, which is $55NZD
Same plan here is $79NZD
They also have a 50GB $18 plan that isn't available here.
Same service, same costs, different prices in different markets. Typical.
Even the % difference between the Residential Lite and Residential plans are skewed.
NZ is $79 and $159, about 2x the price
Kenya is 4000 and 6500, about 60% more
Re: (Score:2)
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The pricing is not based on cost or value provided. It is based on what they think they can squeeze out of you.
Africa is the only country (Score:1)
So everyone wants in on the action on the ground floor. As such they are willing to subsidize prices quite a bit.
They always get you with the cheap intro rates. (Score:3)
Here in my area of the US, a residential class Starlink subscription would cost $90. A compatible 1 gigabit symmetrical fiber connection would cost $59 a month, assuming that you can get one in your neighborhood. If not, you'll probably end up paying similar price to Starlink for slower non-symmetrical Comcast cable connection once you add all their insane taxes and fees.
I'd imagine that the less developed countries are getting a much cheaper Starlink intro rate than we do to bring in business. Then they'll raise their rates once they have a solid customer base, just like most ISP's would.
Re: (Score:3)
Starlink Residential, at my address (in the US), would be $120/month. Their stated expected speed for that plan is 150-250Mbps, although people report somewhat less than that (especially for uploads).
The monthly cost for my existing Comcast internet plan, 800Mbps down / 100Mbps up, just went up $3 to $99/month. FWIW what I see at speedtest.net is typically right around 700+ down and 120 up.
I'm glad Starlink exists, since it's likely the only reason Comcast's upload speeds have increased is competition - som
Wait a second. $30? (Score:3)
Yikes. Only $30 a month for unlimited data? Meanwhile, in the U.S., their residential plans start at $120 a month, unless you include their "dribble of data" basic roaming plan where you can burn through all of your data allowance in just over an hour, and even that joke of a plan is $50.
I mean yes, I realize that cost-of-living-wise, $30 in Zimbabwe is the equivalent of about $400 in the U.S. after adjusting for average salary, but either it costs money to provide data or it doesn't, and if you can provide it at that price and still make a profit, then providing it at 4x that price is just gouging because you can, and if you're losing money at that price, you probably shouldn't be doing it.
Their pricing doesn't make a lot of sense. They charge peanuts in a few countries where almost nobody has Internet service, I guess because they'd love to end up cornering the market, or maybe because the satellites would go completely unused at that point in their orbit, and they might as well make at least a little bit of money from them. So that part at least kind of makes sense.
But everywhere else (U.S., Europe, etc.), their rates are about 2x to 3x the national average. They aren't at all competitive unless you live where the alternative is no service at all. If they're going to charge rates that would make even most extortionate monopoly cable company ISPs blush, it makes me wonder why they're even bothering at all. I just really don't get it.
If they don't cut their prices, they're going to be stuck with only users who live in the middle of nowhere, and over time, you can expect the number of homes without access to fiber to decrease, so that's not a very sound business strategy on even a ten-year horizon, much less in the longer term.
I thought maybe it was because they were still setting up the network and didn't want to overload it too quickly, but they're almost two-thirds of the way to their 12k satellite target at this point. Seems like a good time to start reducing prices to be competitive in the broader market before LEO satellite competition (e.g. Project Kuiper) comes later this year and gives them a good swift kick in the a**. Just saying.