Satellite internet provider Starlink, which launched in Nigeria on Monday, has left many subscribers who can afford to get excited about its super-fast capabilities.
Starlink hardware and shipping costs N276,000 ($600). The monthly subscription is fixed at N19,780 ($43), making it the most expensive internet service in the country. However, many Nigerians, especially entrepreneurs and businesses, may value speed over high costs. According to Starlink, Nigeria is the first African country to launch the service.
“Most businesses, including banks, government agencies, small businesses, and large multinational corporations, rely heavily on the Internet. Poor connectivity, frequent downtime, “unlimited” plans with caps, and some concerns may prove challenges. This will be a thing of the past with Starlink. Starlink is one of the world’s fastest and most reliable internet service providers, according to research conducted from 2021 to date,” said cybersecurity expert Abdulrahman Tunde. increase.
Tayo Oviosu, CEO of fintech company Paga Communications, has posted the results of a speed test he did with Starlink and fiber broadband in Lagos. Two of his diagrams he posted on his verified Twitter handle show Starlink showing his wide lead of 230Mbps compared to 14Mbps of fiber internet. Starlink also boasts 132ms latency in Lagos, while fiber has 6ms latency.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends that 100 Mbps be considered minimum broadband. Ookla, a company that tracks internet speeds, has found that the median fixed broadband internet speeds in the US in October 2022 will be around 182 Mbps for downloads and around 22 Mbps for uploads. Nigeria, on the other hand, recorded 11.40 Mbps downloads and 9.87 Mbps uploads for fixed broadband, making him one of the lowest ranked at 145th. His 5G service recently launched by MTN boasts speeds of 130 Mbps.
Internet download speeds of 200 Mbps and 20 Mbps are therefore seen as huge leaps and will excite emerging technology-driven entrepreneurs in the country. 200 Mbps can handle multiple online activities for a large number of users without interruption.
Starlink therefore brings new competitive pressure to incumbent carriers. According to Ookla, Airtel leads the industry with download speeds of 22.42 Mbps, but his 33ms rocks with a 26ms latency compared to 9Mobile.
However, Nigerian subscribers can only order Starlink through the website using a dollar card, which costs more, given the additional charges.
“The prices on the website (using the official rate) are in naira, but I noticed that in Nigeria you can only use dollar cards to pay for Starlink,” said Temidayo Oniosun, managing director of the African space. . “Somebody needs to solve this foreign exchange transfer problem, otherwise the Naira card will soon become useless,” he added.
