Starlink Nigeria has slashed its hardware costs by 21% as it pushes to gain more share of the Nigerian Internet Service (ISP) market.
Recall that, ITSALLISAY.COM reported last week Tuesday that the company partnered with Jumia to expand services in Nigeria, Kenya in order to enhance satellite broadband services across Africa.
With the price slash, Starlink’s hardware now costs N299,500 down from N378,000 it was being sold before now.
However, the monthly subscription to be paid remained unchanged at N38,000 per month.
The Elon Musk internet company said it will also offer a partial refund to its Nigerian customers who ordered the hardware ‘within the last 30’ days. Starlink noted that the discount offer will end on November 15.
Despite its higher costs compared with local ISPs, Starlink, which announced its presence in Nigeria in January this year had sparked high interest among Nigerians who were eager to change their service providers.
The ubiquitous status of its satellite service also encourages people in areas with poor internet networks to go for Starlink.
According to the ISP data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Starlink is now one of the leading ISPs in Nigeria in terms of customer numbers.
As of the end of June, Starlink Nigeria’s customer base stood at 6,756. Many local ISPs that have been in operation in Nigeria for several years are currently having less than that number of customers.
What You Should Know
Although Starlink officially announced its presence in Nigeria in January this year, Nigerians have been pre-ordering its hardware since last year. The company, which initially quoted its prices in dollars at $600 for the hardware and $43 for the subscription, changed to naira upon its official announcement.
At that point, Starlink’s hardware and monthly subscription costs stood at N268,584 and N19,260, however, that was at the official dollar exchange rate, which stood at around N450/$1 at the time.
With the unification of the exchange rate, the prices of hardware and subscriptions also shot up to N378,000 and N38,000 as the Naira value continued to fall.
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