Starlink in Nigeria - 150-500 Mbps Download Speeds

In a society, four components are essential to sustainable development; security of life and property, power supply, transportation and internet connectivity.

Any nation that gets these four components correctly has no limit to growth and possibilities.

Our focus will be on internet connectivity and what Elon Musk is trying to achieve all over the globe (especially in Nigeria).

Before we talk about the introduction of Starlink internet, a technology of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), let us try to understand the problem we face in Africa when it comes to internet connectivity.

1. Internet Problem in Nigeria

If you are a day-to-day user who streams and views content on social media, you might not know how bad the situation is.

Of course! The social media platforms have been optimised to deliver those content to you regardless of your network strength.

Unfortunately, not everything works this way! There is an aspect of our work that can not be optimised. We need a strong internet signal!

Nigeria is ranked 105th, Nigeria has one of the slowest broadband connection speeds globally (13.45 Mbps) but a slightly faster mobile internet (17.91 Mbps), ranking 96th.

Read about people who lost job opportunities due to poor internet to understand better how bad it is. Read more from premiumtimesng

Let us take, for instance, you are a video editor, for you to be able to collaborate effectively, you need good internet.

For a videographer to be able to upload a 4k or 8k video on your favourite channel, they need good internet connectivity (these files are large and can't be optimised if you want good quality).

Another example is someone working at the bank who needs a good internet to make transactions in real-time.

Computers are interconnected; the internet service providers (ISPs) help us communicate with them. Therefore, the faster they link us to these interconnected resources, the faster our work experience will become.

2. Credits to Nigeria ISPs

To be host, credit all the ISPs currently operating in Africa (especially in Nigeria). These guys have fought a good fight.

It is easy to blame them for poor internet, especially if you tried to use almost all available options.

It is not their entire fault; one of their most extensive setbacks is enabling the working environment.

3. What to expect from Elon Musk Starlink in Nigeria

With the operational licences handed to SpaceX, we will likely start experiencing good internet connectivity.

Starlink is a satellite Internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage currently to 32 countries of the world. There are about 69,000 active Starlink users in the United States and other selected locations in the region.

According to the Starlink website, customers on the premium service will get download speeds between 150-500 Mbps.

With 500 MBPs, you will be able to download large files in seconds. For instance, you will be able to download a 5GB video in 10 seconds.

You no longer have to suffer from disconnection while n virtual calls.

According to The Guardian, Lagos, Abuja, and Benin are some of the areas mentioned for the availability of Starlink in Nigeria when it begins operations soonest.

This operation will create a significant shift!

4. The Starlink Broadband Cost

The unfortunate thing is that the services, as of the time of writing, are way too expensive for an average user in Nigeria.

While Starlink broadband promises latency of 20-40 ms, the improved speeds come at a price.

To get the premium tier, customers need to dole out $2,500 (over 1.2 million Naira) in one-time hardware fees for the equipment and $500 (over 250k Naira) per month for service.

Also, the service requires a refundable $500 (over 250k Naira) deposit, plus shipping and taxes.

While this amount seems outrageous due to Naira to Dollar exchange rate, I hope to see SpaceX develop a reasonable payment model for Nigeria and other African countries.

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