Elon Musk owned satellite internet company, Starlink, is playing marketing games with its Kenya Mobile-Regional plan subscribers. Or so it appears, in April of 2024, Starlink announced a 55.6 percent reduction in the price of its installation hardware kit. This promotion led to a significant slash of the asking price from KES 89,000 to KES 39,500.
This slash in Starlink kit cost however, was not eternal. It was a limited time offer that lasted until May 15th of 2024. At the time Kenyan Starlink Roaming customers understood this offer will be followed by them paying KES 7,900. This is the monthly fee the satellite internet provider has been charging its Mobile-Regional subscribers since it officially launched in Kenya.
No doubt, in the world of sales and marketing, promotions like this are meant to enhance uptake and boost sales numbers. However, a few days after May 15th, Starlink had a surprise in store for some of its old and newly acquired customers.
“The monthly service price of “Mobile – Regional” is increasing to Ksh14,000. As a current customer, your monthly service price will increase in 3 months, beginning 08/16/2024. For new customers, the price increase is effective immediately,” reads part of Starlink’s email.
While new Starlink roaming clients will benefit from the slashed cost of the kit. They have to contend with almost double the cost of subscription. Old customers have some breathing space to prepare for the new charges.
Notably, this price hike is for the Starlink Mobile-Regional Plan. Usually, referred to as roaming, this plan is for those wishing to use the services while on the move. However, for the standard Starlink Mobile-Residential plan, the cost for now remains at KES 6,500. The company has also increased prices in other global markets for specific packages citing capacity.
