According to the fourth quarter report from Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA), Starlink’s subscriber count in Kenya increased by an impressive 1,995.3%. The number of subscribers rose from 405 in June of last year to 4,808 in March 2024, and by June 2024, it reached 8,324—approximately 20 times the figure from the previous year.
The Communications Authority stated, “Satellite subscriptions maintained an upward trend following the launch of Starlink services during the year, with 96.9% of satellite customers subscribed to speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps.”
As a result, Starlink now holds 0.5% of the fixed data subscriptions market share in Kenya. Among the subscribers, 36.4% are represented by Safaricom PLC, 24% by Jamii Telecommunications, 17.5% by Wananchi Group, and 13.2% by Poa Internet. These four major companies together account for 91.1% of all subscribers.
The report also noted that the total international bandwidth capacity increased to 21,244.338 Gbps, while Kenya’s satellite internet capacity rose to 840.448 Gbps. These increases are attributed to the entry of Starlink into the Kenyan market.
Starlink, the fastest-growing internet service, entered the African market in January 2023 and launched in Kenya in March 2023. It is currently present in 16 African countries and continues to expand rapidly.
However, despite its significant success in the African market, Elon Musk has yet to establish operations in his home country, South Africa. The primary obstacle to Musk’s progress in South Africa is the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), which mandates that disadvantaged groups must own at least 30% of any company seeking a telecommunications license. Recently, the company met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss these regulatory challenges.