Starlink Shocks Nigerian Customers With 97% Price Hike, Blames ‘Excessive Levels Of Inflation’

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service provider, Starlink, has announced a price hike for its personal residential users in Nigeria. The company raised the subscription price by a staggering 97.36%, THE WHISTLER reports.

The drastic increase comes barely a week after Starlink introduced a more affordable internet kit in Kenya, priced at ($208.38), along with a $30.87 (N49,422) per month residential subscription plan.

On October 1, 2024, Starlink sent an email to its Nigerian customers, citing “excessive levels of inflation” as the reason for the price adjustment.

The new monthly service prices are set to take effect on October 31, 2024, for existing customers, while new customers will be subject to the increased rates immediately.

According to the email, the Standard (Residential) plan will now cost N75,000 per month, up from the previous N38,000.

The Mobile – Regional (Roam Unlimited) plan has been raised to N167,000, and the Mobile – Global (Global Roam) plan now stands at N717,000 per month.

The cost of Starlink’s hardware which until now was N440,000, has been increased to N590,000

Checks by THE WHISTLER show that the company’s website has already reflected the changes.

The price hike comes amidst increasing competition in the African internet market. In Kenya, local internet service provider Safaricom recently boosted its fibre internet speeds in a move seen as a direct response to Starlink’s entry into the market.

Safaricom also introduced a high-end 1Gbps plan for heavy internet users, priced at KES 20,000 ($155).

With approximately 400,000 customers connected through 14,000 km of fibre optic cable, Safaricom is reportedly preparing to launch its own satellite internet service to secure its market position against international players like Starlink.

Meanwhile, the price adjustment in Nigeria is not limited to residential plans. Starlink adjusted its business subscription plans by introducing a new tier while modifying existing ones.

The new business plans now include a “Priority – 40GB” option at N50,000 per month, while the “Priority – 1TB” and “Priority – 2TB” plans remain unchanged at N80,000 and N159,000 per month, respectively.

Notably, the previously available “Priority – 6TB plan” priced at N474,000 per month has been removed from Starlink’s website as of the time THE WHISTLER checked.

This is not the first time Starlink is making price adjustments in Nigeria.

In April, the company slashed the price of its hardware by 45%, reducing the cost of its internet router from N800,000 to N440,000. At that time, the monthly subscription fee remained unchanged at N38,000.

A month prior, Starlink had increased the hardware price by 112%, from N378,000 to N800,000 — a move believed to be influenced by the declining value of the Naira against the dollar.

The Nigerian currency has been on a steady decline since the beginning of 2024, falling from N907 to a dollar in December 2023 to N1,601 to a dollar as of October 1, 2024, in the official market as seen on the CBN website.

Despite the higher costs compared to local ISPs, Starlink has seen increased patronage among Nigerians since its launch in the country in January 2023.