The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, SpaceX, has commenced the operation of Starlink services in Nigeria, the first African country to receive such.
The Elon Musk-owned firm confirmed this in a tweet on Monday, January 31, 2023.
It tweeted, “Starlink is now available in Nigeria – the first African country to receive service.”
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX that launched in 2019. It provides satellite internet access coverage to about 46 countries, which is also targeting the global mobile phone service after 2023.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, broadband penetration hit 47.36 percent as of December 2022. Nigeria hopes to increase its broadband penetration to 50 percent in 2023 and 90 percent in 2025.
The ‘Nigerian National Broadband Plan: 2020–2025,’ reads in part, “The new Broadband Plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90 percent of the population by 2025 at a price, not more than N390 per 1GB of data (i.e. 2 percent of median income or 1 percent of minimum wage).
Recently, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, stated that the country had achieved 100 percent broadband coverage following the licensing and operation of Starlink.
He said, “Based on the National Broadband Plan, we were to have 90 percent broadband coverage by December 2025. However, we recently gave a license to Starlink to provide services, and this has given us 100% coverage, about 3 years ahead of schedule.”
While Starlink has now commenced operations in Nigeria, there are concerns about how its high price will hinder the ability of citizens to access its services.