On June 26th this year, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, while responding to a query on his X account, promised that the Starlink Mini will be available in Kenya later in the year. What he had not specified was the date and pricing. This promise has been fulfilled as Starlink Mini is now live across Kenya.
The price of the Starlink Mini kit in Kenya is set at KES 27,000. The mini is designed for portability and ease of use. For many Kenyans, the primary barrier has been the upfront hardware cost. This is something the mini may address with its lower pricing.
Since its entry into the Kenyan market in June 2023, Starlink has had many offers and price changes to incentivize Kenyans. Its internet speeds can reach up to 200 Mbps and cost KES 6,500. It also launched a 50 GB package for KES 1,300. The company also added a Residential Lite package for KES 4,000.
Recently, the internet company introduced a rental option for customers who cannot afford to purchase the standard Starlink kit at once. Currently, the standard kit is priced at KES 45,000.
Kenyans have responded positively to Starlink’s entry. The SpaceX subsidiary had registered over 4,000 customers as of June this year. Schools, companies and county governments have also become customers. A prime example is Murang’a county government which has installed Starlink in major facilities like offices and hospitals. The Nairobi County government is also a Starlink customer with installation at City Hall.
Safaricom Rattled
This popularity has had its effect in the market. Safaricom sought to limit competition from foreign satellite internet providers like Starlink by requesting the Communications Authority to block their services in Kenya. The regulator supported Safaricom’s proposal.
Further, Safaricom has doubled the speed of its fibre internet packages in response to Starlink’s growing presence in Kenya’s broadband market. With the changes, Safaricom breaks new ground with Kenya’s first gigabit internet service at KES 20,000.
No doubt the launch of Starlink Mini will send further ripples in the local internet space.
