Satellite internet provider, Starlink, has halted new residential and roaming subscriptions in Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Narok, Murang’a, and Nakuru due to overcapacity in its bandwidth.
- Starlink said that soaring demand for the service in these metropolitan areas overstretched their capacity to provide quality internet for existing subscribers.
- The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) revealed that Starlink has gained over 8,000 subscribers over the past one year; the demand driven by the service’s fast internet speeds and reliable connectivity.
- Starlink, which is operated by satellites in the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) can be prone to congestion if many people from a certain geographical area connect to it.
Starlink’s CEO, Elon Musk, has assured the continent that the network’s capacity in major urban areas will be ramped up to handle demand. The network’s capacity in rural areas remains stable.
“Starlink is working to increase internet capacity in dense urban areas in Africa as fast as possible,” Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The demand for kits is also outpacing supply in stores across cities in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and even Kenya. In Madagascar, potential customers will wait until 2025.
Initially, Starlink was conceived as an internet solution for low-density rural areas that are geographically vast. In such places, fibre optic internet and broadband connections can be costly and inefficient.
Initially, adoption of the satellite internet service was cogged by the expensive prices of its hardware kits. Later this year, the company introduced a rental option for the kits (KSh 1,950 per month) and brought in Starlink mini – a cheaper kit option – that prompted many interested buyers to finally equip themselves with the service.
