Starlink, the satellite internet provider operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, saw its market share in Kenya’s fixed internet market drop to 0.9% in the first quarter of 2025, down from 1.1% at the end of 2024.
- •This reflects a net loss of 2,080 subscriptions, making Starlink the only major provider in Kenya to report a quarter-on-quarter decline.
- •In November 2024, Starlink paused new residential activations in major Kenyan counties—including Nairobi and Kiambu—after reaching network saturation.
- •Users encountered “sold out” messages, as satellite capacity could no longer support growing demand.
Kenya was not the only country affected. Across Africa, Starlink halted new orders in Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In total, the pause disrupted services for over 100,000 users, including 60,000 in Nigeria, where regulatory approvals from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) were still pending.
Infrastructure Limitations
At the core of the issue is Starlink’s infrastructure model. Each antenna beam serves just 1,000 to 1,500 users within a 22 km radius—insufficient in Africa’s dense urban environments. Making matters worse, Starlink lacked local ground infrastructure in Kenya. Until early 2025, most traffic was routed through European gateways, particularly Frankfurt, which increased latency and impacted service quality.
Although Starlink resumed new sign-ups by mid-2025 after launching a ground station in Nairobi, the Q1 performance exposed its vulnerability. Meanwhile, competitors expanded aggressively: Safaricom added 56,969 subscriptions, Poa Internet gained 23,461, and Vilcom added 16,702, all growing market share during the same period.
Despite early-year setbacks, Starlink’s broader African revival is progressing. The company has restarted activations across many urban hubs, including Lagos, Accra, Lusaka, and Nairobi. In Nigeria, retail partner Konga introduced incentives such as free nationwide delivery to encourage adoption.
