Reports indicate that Nigerians willing to subscribe to Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service will pay up to $600 to acquire the setup hardware. With the naira exchanging at N730 to $1 in the black market, this is about N438,000.00.
In addition, the subscription to Starlink’s service in Nigeria will cost $43 per month, which is about N31,000.00.
The company said Nigerians can pre-order the $600 hardware as it prepares to launch this year.
Sources reveal that Starlink, which was expected to roll out its service in Nigeria before the end of last year, said its rollout is now “pending regulatory approval.”
Prof Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy had last year noted that some administrative issues were delaying Starlink’s scheduled launch.
Two days to the end of last year, the Minister announced via his Twitter handle that Starlink had started deploying infrastructure in Nigeria.
According to him, “They have now commenced the deployment of their facilities in Nigeria. Nigeria is the first African country to reach that partnership & also approval for the deployment.”
Earlier in December, the Minister disclosed that the Nigerian government has approved Starlink’s application as a High Throughput Satellite (HTS) Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Operator in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector.
“As part of the partnership, Space X is to provide broadband access across the whole of Nigeria, enabling nationwide access to broadband connectivity way ahead of the December 2025 schedule, as outlined in our National Broadband Plan. With this collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, Nigeria is set to be the 1st African country to introduce the service,” he said.
