The entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink into the Nigerian telecoms market is set to drive a new wave of competition among the telecommunications service providers in the country.
The new entrant will have to battle for customers who are currently subscribing to internet service from MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and over 200 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) earlier licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Nairametrics reported yesterday that Starlink had acquired two licences from the NCC, which include an International Gateway licence and an ISP licence.
With the ISP licence, Starlink will be competing with the top ISPs in Nigeria such as Spectranet, FibreOne, Tizeti, iPNX, among others, and the mobile network operators, who currently have the larger chunk of internet customers in Nigeria.
Although Starlink has an edge over other service providers in that it will be providing its service via satellite, which can be accessed anywhere all over the country, its survival will depend on how competitive its prices are.
Why it matters
- Stiff competition in the market often forces the operators to crash their prices as they battle for customers. Should Starlink be willing to compete on the price front, this will be a big win for internet users in Nigeria.
- With satellite service from Starlink, Nigeria will be able to bridge its access gap, especially in the rural areas not being reached by the current operators. Starlink is a low latency broadband internet system created to meet the needs of consumers in rural areas with low internet penetration across the globe.
- In terms of speed, Starlink is theoretically capable of delivering 150Mbps internet speeds to any place on the planet. This will challenge other operators in the country to upgrade their broadband services to achieve competitive speed in the market.
What you should know
- With the International Gateway licence, Starlink is allowed to construct, own, operate, maintain and use an International Gateway for the provision and operation of international access and gateway services in Nigeria.
- This means that the company can provide services such as global mobile personal communication by satellite, mobile radio services, VSAT Services, internet node, and backbone services.
- In this category, Starlink will be competing with Globacom, Prest Cable & Satellite TV Systems Ltd, IMBIL Telecom Solutions Nig Ltd, and Green Foot Global Resources Ltd., who all have the same licence in Nigeria
This will be the best for all Nigerians, because we haven’t been enjoying the internet
Starlink entey is good for a competitive telecoms market in Nigeria. This will also stimulate the quest for better services for subscribers. Interesting days ahead.
The jinx has finally been broken. My nation is advancing. Nigeria is marching forward. Greater Nigeria is emerging.
With the cost of internet data plans in Nigeria, I can’t wait for Elon’s Starlink to take over abeg!
lol. Starlink cost #65k per month. How is this cheap either?
That’s not true…
Good news indeed. I hope starlink begins operation soonest.
I just hope it would be affordable though.
Great development for Nigeria
All I want to know is how do I invest in this adventure. I wanna be a share holder in this vision biko
Will Nigerian power situation allow Nigerians to enjoy this Starlink stuff ? Any way that’s just my concern.
I love this 😍, Elon musk God bless you so much
Men I can’t wait. Elon musk abeg make it affordable so that all this people saying electronic transmission will not work because of poor Internet in rural areas can stop those useless excuses. Anyway for voting, count me out.
I did drive a very inspiring lesson from Elon ie, upon all odds” aim and focus” that’s, Starlink has something to offer to Nigerians,Targeting rural areas seems to be the best thing a commoners can get God bless!
Ok thank
That would be an amazing
This is super welcome development! As long as as Starlink can give me fast unhibited internet service in any location, i am ready to fully port from all the unreliable internet service providers we have around and pitch my tent with Elon Musk. Can’t wait for it to kick off!
ELON M.. Guy what took you so long 🙂🙂
Great future ahead. This will also give you a good profit because Nigeria is lacking Internet… We will also like you to invest in electricity this two things is the major issues Nigerian is having. Most expecially electricity. We need people like you in Nigeria who are serious in business… Thank you
I have been reading I swear Chris you are right is Nepa can have a rival it will be fine so we can have stable light
I love him for this….if it real then God bless him for this
Can this starlink Internet be use in phone, are they going to operate like mtn, glo and other that has sim card used in phone
This will be great for internet users here in Nigeria mostly because to buy data these days is too expensive.
Lol..starlink sub will be more expensive ooo; #65k. I personally can’t wait for this to take effect
Most Nigerians will readily port if it’s affordable. I for one use the Internet more than I call or text
I am intetested 8n partnership
You’re highly welcome…I can’t wait jare am tired of MTN&GLO cheat
At least for quality internet and business opportunities in the rural areas. With the Vast internet in the rural areas the benefits will be enormous.
You don’t need to fight for users. They’ll gladly come when they see what you’re offering is way better than MTN & Airtel whom have been robbing us and giving us poor service.
I can’t wait for the starlink, rural and urban areas will have stable network, please introduce it quick