Starlink Kenya records nearly 2000% subscriber growth in one year

Starlink appears to be witnessing tremendous growth in Africa. Its Kenyan subsidiary is no different as the company has boosted satellite data subscriptions in the country. According to the fourth quarter industry statistics report by Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA), subscribers grew by a really impressive 1,955.3%.

This astounding growth is attributed to Starlink with satellite data subscriptions growing fast after its licensing and launch back in July 2023.

According to the CA’s fourth-quarter industry report, as of June 2024, satellite data subscribers stood at 8,324. This represents a 73.1 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter which ended in March 2024 when the number of subscribers stood at 4,808. As of June last year, a month before the launch of Starlink, the number of satellite subscribers was only 405.

“Satellite subscriptions maintained an upward trend following the launch of Starlink services during the year, with 96.9 per cent of satellite customers subscribed to speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps,” the Communications Authority said in its report.

Starlink now controls 0.5% of market share in Kenya

Following its impressive growth, Starlink now controls 0.5 per cent of the fixed data subscriptions market share in Kenya.

Overall, Safaricom PLC still controls the largest market share in Kenya, boasting of 36.4 per cent of the internet subscribers. This is followed by Jamii Telecommunications which controls 24 per cent. Next is Wananchi Group which controls 17.5 per cent of the total market share.

Poa Internet controls 13.2 per cent, Mawingu has 2.6 per cent, Vilcom controls 1.5 per cent, Dimension Data has 1.1 per cent, while Liquid Telecommunications Kenya controls 1 per cent of the market. Two satellite data subscribers, Vijiji Connect and Starlink Internet Services Kenya control 0.5 per cent of the market share.

The report also noted that the total lit international internet Bandwidth Capacity in the country grew by 2.4 per cent to 21,244.338 Gbps by the end of June 2024. The utilization of Undersea Bandwidth Capacity also rose by 31.3 per cent to record 14,644.284 Gbps. Of this total, 11,690.464 Gbps, representing 55 per cent of the total, were used in the country while 2,953.820 Gbps representing 13.9 per cent were sold outside the country.

Furthermore, the country’s Utilized Satellite Internet Capacity witnessed a remarkable increase from 48.438 in June 2023 to 840.448 Gbps by June 2024. This represents a 1,635.1 per cent increase, all attributable to the entry of Starlink Internet services into the country.

Starlink making inroads in Africa

Starlink announced its entry into the African market with its debut in Nigeria back in January 2023. Rwanda would follow in March of the same year, followed by Kenya much later. The internet service which is operated by the Elon Musk- owned aerospace company SpaceX, offers satellite internet service that uses a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Unlike traditional satellite internet, Starlink provides high-speed, low latency connectivity, supporting services not possible with traditional satellite technology. Despite complaints about its price, immobility, and instability, especially when it rains, users, however, admit that it provides the fastest speeds, better than the regular providers.

Starlink is the fastest-growing internet service as it is now available in over 107 countries globally including 16 African countries.

But the company’s foray into Africa has not been without hitches. The company ran into regulatory challenges in various countries like Ghana, Botswana and Zimbabwe. But nowhere did it faces stricter regulatory hurdles than in South Africa, which happens to be the home country of its founder, Elon Musk.

According to SpaceX, the primary challenge it faces in South Africa is a particular Electronic Communications Act (ECA) criterion. The criterion states that historically disadvantaged groups like blacks and women must own at least 30% of any telco seeking an operational license. As it currently doesn’t satisfy that prerequisite, getting licensed is out of the picture for now.

The company recently met with South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa and it remains to be seen if this will lead to a resolution of the regulatory challenges.

See also: South African President, Ramaphosa meets with Starlink over stalled launch