Starlink dips in Kenyan subscriptions, ranks 8th among internet service providers

According to the Communications Authority’s latest sector report for the January–March 2025 quarter, satellite internet subscriptions dipped by 9.9 per cent to 17,475 due to the reduced uptake of Starlink's service. 

Despite the dip, Starlink, owned by American tech titan Elon Musk, was ranked eighth in Kenya's top 10 internet service providers, beating ISPs such as Liquid Telecommunications Kenya and Vijiji Connect Ltd. 

In contrast, the demand for Starlink fueled satellite capacity to grow from 34.14 Gigabits per second in the previous quarter to 45.29 Gbps. 

Telco giant Safaricom maintained its dominance with 678,118 data subscribers and amassing a 36.5 per cent share.

This was followed by Jamii Telecommunications Ltd with 418,309 subscribers (22.5 per cent) and Wananchi Group Ltd with 267,812 subscribers (14.4 per cent). 

Launched in 2023, Starlink's satellite technology increasingly offered competitively priced internet packages and better internet speeds that rivalled telco giants such as Safaricom, which use fibre-optic service. 

The internet service quickly garnered traction from Kenyans and rose to become the country’s tenth-largest ISP at the time.

However, Starlink's hardware cost kept off many potential buyers as the kit initially retailed at Ksh.74,000. 

The company reduced the price to Ksh 39,500, and later to Ksh 29,000, in an effort to address the high cost.

This still remained out of reach for many Kenyans, leading to Starlink introducing a kit rental option in Kenya, which would see customers pay a one-time activation fee of Ksh.2,700 and pay a monthly hardware rental fee of Ksh.1,950. 

The service options began at Ksh.1,300 a month for a 50 GB monthly data plan, whereby customers still got the same internet speeds of up to 200Mbps.

Safaricom's concerns

Owing to Starlink's high demand, Safaricom wrote to the Kenyan government asking it to re-evaluate its decision to grant licences to satellite internet providers.

The company warned of threats of illegal connections and what it calls harmful interference to mobile network operators (MNOs). 

“We propose that the CA instead consider mandating the satellite service providers to only operate in Kenya, subject to such providers establishing an agreement with an existing local licensee,” Safaricom said.

While CA did not publicly respond to Safaricom’s request, President William Ruto, at the time, praised Starlink's entry into Kenya for creating competition, which he said caused existing players to provide better services.

"I have my CEO for Safaricom, sometimes he's not very happy with me for bringing other characters like Elon Musk and others into the space. I keep encouraging Peter that competition makes you keep ahead and he's been doing pretty well, I must admit, he's really upped his game," Ruto said in September 2024. 

In an interview with Bloomberg, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa explored the option of partnering with Starlink. 

“Fibre is one of the best in the region. The satellite adds or complements the rest of the technology. What we're telling the regulator is that satellite is used in places not covered today because it will benefit the country rather than competing in urban areas. We're not worried about competition, we will deal with it,” Ndegwa stated. 

In another interview with NTV, the Safaricom CEO noted that there was no official deal tabled between the two parties.