Starlink Nationwide Expansion Drive Threatens ISPs’ Survival
MONTHS after the suspension of its sign-ups in some cities in Nigeria, Starlink has returned to assume full nationwide availability of service across the country, with the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) facing survival uncertainty.
Since reactivating its sign-ups in Lagos and Abuja some months ago, two of its highest-demand locations in the country, existing ISPs in the country have been faced with uneasiness over the fate of their operations, tagging Starlink as a major threat that can render their services undesirable.
Within a few years it made entry into Nigeria, Starlink has redefined the internet market with faster speed, superior service support, and broader availability, and now it’s poised to ignite a price war that could spell the end for traditional ISPs.
There is no doubt to the fact that internet service providers who have invested heavily in local network infrastructure are seriously apprehensive about Starlink and the formidable competition it represents.
Commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of eStream Network, Muyiwa Ogungboye, said Starlink could be a threat to the local ISP market in Nigeria.
According to him, “As a local ISP player, the advent of Starlink makes us question if the regulator is really careful of the investments made by players in this industry, because millions of naira have already been invested in infrastructure even in the underserved areas.”
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Towers, Azeez Amida, said Starlink might both be a threat and a prospect, but added that the wide adoption of the 5G network in Nigeria would pose a greater challenge to the solution.
With over 5,000 satellites in its Starlink fleet, SpaceX’s constellation is the undisputed leader in space-based communications.
In Nigeria, Starlink has been projected to capture over 60% of the market within two years.
The operational drive of ISPs like Tizeti Network, ipNX Nigeria, Broadbased Communication, VDT Communications and even GSM operators- MTN, Airtel and Glo- who are currently holding their ground, must prepare for a future reshaped by satellite internet if they want to survive Starlink onslaught.
As at March this year, Starlink overtook FiberOne Broadband Limited to become Nigeria’s second-largest internet service provider (ISP), outpacing most local ISPs by the end of 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data.
The company’s subscriber base more than double in one year, increasing from 23,897 users in 2023 to 65,564 in 2024.
Unlike Starlink which is a satellite-based service, Spectranet and others rely on fiber and terrestrial wireless networks, which require significant infrastructure investment and maintenance.
Because of the high speed of up to 250Mbps being offered by the service provider, Starlink has driven adoption, outpacing most local ISPs.
The satellite service provider which resumed operations in major Nigerian cities after some months, came up with the expansion drive after upgrades to its network infrastructure.
According to the company, the suspension of sign-ups was prompted by infrastructure limitations amid rising demand across the country, with major cities, such as Kano, Port Harcourt, and Warri, now recording a high number of new sign-ups.
With the renewed availability of Starlink services, Konga, Starlink’s largest retail partner in Nigeria, has expressed delight for the development and announced free nationwide delivery for all customers. The company confirmed that whether orders are placed online or in physical outlets across cities such as Asaba, Port Harcourt, Ikeja, Uyo, Owerri, Ibadan, Abuja, Warri, Kano, Enugu, or Onitsha, Starlink kits will be delivered at no additional cost.
Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, renewed rollout and customer subscriptions is not only being witnessed in Nigeria but also in several high-demand African cities, Nairobi and surrounding areas in Kenya, Lusaka and other parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe (excluding Harare) and Accra, Ghana.
However, a key bottleneck is Starlink’s current technical limitation of supporting only 1,500 users within a 22-kilometre radius, a challenge in Africa’s densely populated cities, where millions reside in concentrated areas.
In January 2023, Nigeria became the first African market that Starlink entered. Two years later, it now ranks second among internet service providers, which are classified separately from large telecom players by the Nigerian authorities.
With over 65,500 users at the end of the third quarter last year, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecom regulator, Starlink is second only to Lagos-based 16-year-old operator ISP, Spectranet.
Starlink delivers high-speed internet through a network of approximately 5,500 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that SpaceX started deploying in 2019. With 2.6m customers globally, the service is targeting expansion in under-served markets, such as those in Africa, to turbocharge growth.
Various performance tests indicate that Starlink’s download speed can exceed 100 megabits per second in several countries, enhancing the quality of internet-powered activities including live streaming, online gaming and video calls. This high-speed connectivity, including in remote areas, makes Starlink a compelling alternative to traditional terrestrial internet providers.
Indeed, Starlink may offer one of the few reliable and comparatively affordable alternatives to existing internet services, particularly in a market where traditional providers often struggle with inconsistent speeds and limited rural reach.
However, going by the current growth rates, analysts are of the view that Starlink will soon be the dominant internet service operator, with the anticipation of making the existing ones to become defunct like the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication operators did to the CDMA in early 2000.
