Elon Musk’s Starlink Ignores Nigeria, Opens First African Office in another country.
Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy. Elon Musk-owned satellite internet provider Starlink may have launched its first African service in Nigeria. But, it is choosing Kenya to site its first physical presence in Africa.
The SpaceX company recently posted a job vacancy for the Global Licencing Activation Manager position for sub-Saharan Africa.
The chosen candidate is expected to manage a portfolio of countries, relating internally and externally, to enable the internet firm to become licensed as an internet service provider, bringing the country online to serve people and enterprises worldwide.
The statement said.
“The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, reporting to the team at our MacGregor, TX location.”
BusinessDay reports that the company announced its first African launch in Nigeria in a tweet in January 2023, which set off a flurry of optimism that the satellite internet provider might consider Africa’s largest economy the first place to establish a presence on the continent. The company now has services in Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, and Eswatini.
Starlink moves to launch mobile services The development comes as the company launched six Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell functions to shift focus to mobile communications. The company announced the launch of the satellites in a tweet on X on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, saying the satellites will enhance global connectivity and help to eliminate dead zones.
It said that with the launch of the satellites, users will not need to change their phones when the service is launched as it will work with 4G-enabled devices. Commenting on the launch, Musk said it will allow mobile connectivity anywhere globally, stressing that it will not compete with terrestrial mobile networks. He said: “Note that this only supports ~7Mb per beam, and the beams are very big, so while this is a great solution for locations with no cellular connectivity, it is not meaningfully competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks,” Musk stated.
“No More N378k”: Elon Musk Slashes Price of Starlink for Nigerians by 21%,
Legit. ng reported that an Internet company led by Elon Musk, Starlink, has slashed the cost of its hardware for Nigerians to N299,500. This represents a 21% reduction compared to the previous rate of N378,000. The new price is expected to pave the way for Starlinks to have more access to the Nigerian Internet Service Provider (ISP) market.
