Network congestion stops Starlink’s burgeoning growth
Satellite Services giant, Starlink, announced that it will be pausing new subscriptions in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi and five neighbouring regions. It cited high demand that has led to a strain in its network capacity. The five regions are Kiambu, Machakos, Narok, Murang’a, and Nakuru.
This comes after a section of users in the greater Nairobi metropolitan area complained of the company failing to provide residential, business, and ROAM service plans.
Starlink said its network capacity could not support additional customers. While this congestion highlighted the company’s rising popularity in Kenya, it raises questions about its capacity to scale in densely populated urban areas.
“Nairobi and neighbouring areas are currently at network capacity. This means that too many users are trying to access the Starlink service within Nairobi, and there isn’t enough bandwidth to support additional residential or roaming customers now,” Starlink said.
“No roaming plans are available in Kenya at this time. Starlink is working to restore service in the disrupted areas and a notification will be sent once the residential plan is back,” Starlink added.
The tech company, founded by the world’s richest human Elon Musk further indicated that the affordable packages were out of stock and only those charging above Ksh130,000 per month were available.
Since its launch in Kenya in July 2023, the number of Starlink users has grown more than tenfold, driven by promotions on kits and cheaper monthly plans. Data from Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA) shows that Starlink got over 8,000 customers in Kenya by June 30, 2024, accounting for a 0.5 per cent market share. As of August 2024, the package for residential homes in Kenya for unlimited high-speed, low-latency internet data was Ksh6,500 per month.
The roaming package goes for Ksh14,000 per month and its features include unlimited mobile data inland, portability, and pause Service. Starlink’s expansion, which offers faster speeds and relatively lower prices, has upset local ISPs like Safaricom.
Starlink beams internet to users using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which are about 1,000km from the earth’s surface–increasing information speeds with rates of up to 300Gbps. On July 15, Safaricom asked the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to assess the risks of allowing satellite internet providers to operate without an agreement with local companies.
Significantly, Starlink network congestion has also impacted its roaming services across Africa. The company has reportedly removed several African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, from its list of supported roaming destinations.
Starlink customers in these regions have reported slower-than-expected download speeds, often in the low double-digit Mbps range. Additionally, there are concerns that misuse of roaming plans in unsupported countries could lead to a permanent shutdown of the feature.
In Kenya, Starlink terminals have flown off the shelves in Nairobi. Terminals are no longer available in Lusaka, Zambia. Reports reveal that in Zimbabwe, Starlink terminals were sold out in the country’s capital Harare, less than two months after receiving permission from authorities to operate in the southern African nation.
