It's official, from next spring, little by little and city by city, Kenya will revolutionise the way it accesses the internet and makes full use of its services. The giant Safaricom and other telephone companies, but also the providers that have sprung up in recent years using broadband and fibre optics, will have 'tough' competition because the satellite connection of technocrat Elon Musk, with his company Starlink, will arrive in the country. It was Starlink itself that announced the launch in Kenya in the second quarter of this year. "This move marks the company's expansion into the African market and is part of Starlink's mission to provide Internet access to remote and underserved areas around the world," the company explained.
The company announced on its website that it plans to offer the service in areas such as Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nakuru, among other cities in the country, no later than June. Demand in the capital and on the coast is very high, and dissatisfaction with the competition's still expensive fares, in the face of service that is judged to be sub-standard and spotty, could benefit Musk's company.
What will change for Kenyans, residents and workers in Kenya?
First of all, the connection will be stable, upgraded (from the current average of 5-10 megabytes per second provided in the country today, it will go up to 20 and 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for individuals and 40-220 Mbps for business, and there will be no areas without coverage, barring extreme weather conditions that, however, are unlikely to occur in Kenya. Not to mention the speed of streaming, which will allow all channels and TV on demand to be watched perfectly and, another relevant detail, with unlimited use of gigabytes.
How much will Starlink cost?
According to what we have seen in other developing countries, the cost of the subscription will not be affordable, especially for the majority of the population, but it is obviously attractive for those companies (even hotels and restaurants for example) that offer wi-fi services to their customers or for large companies and organisations.
We are talking about 12 000 Kenyan shillings per month.
"Starlink's high-speed, low-latency service is made possible by the world's largest constellation of highly advanced satellites operating in a low orbit around the Earth," the company explains on its website. way of accessing the internet and enjoying its services. The giant Safaricom and the other telephone companies, but also the providers that have sprung up in recent years using broadband and fibre optics, will have 'tough' competition because the satellite connection of technocrat Elon Musk, with his company Starlink, will arrive in the country. It was Starlink itself that announced the launch in Kenya in the second quarter of this year. "This move marks the company's expansion into the African market and is part of Starlink's mission to provide Internet access to remote and underserved areas around the world," the company explained.
The company announced on its website that it plans to offer the service in areas such as Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nakuru, among other cities in the country, no later than June. Demand in the capital and on the coast is very high, and dissatisfaction with the competition's still expensive fares, in the face of service that is judged to be sub-standard and spotty, could benefit Musk's company.
What will change for Kenyans, residents and workers in Kenya?
First of all, the connection will be stable, upgraded (from the current average of 5-10 megabytes per second provided in the country today, it will go up to 20 and 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for individuals and 40-220 Mbps for business, and there will be no areas without coverage, barring extreme weather conditions that, however, are unlikely to occur in Kenya. Not to mention the speed of streaming, which will allow all channels and TV on demand to be watched perfectly and, another relevant detail, with unlimited use of gigabytes.
How much will Starlink cost?
According to what we have seen in other developing countries, the cost of the subscription will not be affordable, especially for the majority of the population, but it is obviously attractive for those companies (even hotels and restaurants for example) that offer wi-fi services to their customers or for large companies and organisations.
We are talking about 12 000 Kenyan shillings per month.
"Starlink's high-speed, low-latency service is made possible by the world's largest constellation of highly advanced satellites operating in low Earth orbit," the company explains on its website.