Nigerians would need to pay a black-market price of N438,000, or N730 to $1, or the official rate of N269,130, or N448 to $1, to purchase the setup hardware for Starlink, a broadband service from Elon Musk that aims to sell internet connections to every part of the world through private satellites orbiting in low-Earth orbit.
This is true even if the monthly subscription fee for the service is $43, which is equivalent to about N31,000 or N19,287.
As it gets ready to debut this year, Nigerians can pre-order the $600 hardware, but it added that the rollout is currently “waiting regulatory approval.”
Remember that Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, warned last year that some administrative obstacles were delaying the planned launch of Starlink?
He had stated that they have now started deploying their facilities in Nigeria. Nigeria is the first nation in Africa to secure both the deployment’s approval and that partnership.
“As part of the agreement, Space X will offer internet service throughout the entirety of Nigeria, enabling nationwide access to broadband connectivity years before the National Broadband Plan’s December 2025 target date.” Nigeria will launch the service for the first time in Africa as a result of this collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, he added.
However, several Nigerians have voiced worries about the expensive price of purchasing Starlink’s gear. They are particularly concerned about the fact that Nigerians can only pay for the hardware and membership in US dollars, despite the fact that the majority of Nigerian banks have outlawed US currency card transactions.
