How Good Starlink is, Compared to Safaricom

The spacex’s satellite internet service, starlink, introduction in the country, has been well received by Kenyans.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) once showed that Safaricom controls the country’s mobile broadband subscriptions at 63.7%.

However, since the spacex’s satellite internet service, starlink has been introduced in the country, this serves as a competition to Safaricom as it has been well received by Kenyans.

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Muranga governor Irungu Kangata took his X page to laud Starlink and its advantages.

“Government should ignore Safaricom. Muranga automated its healthcare. Safaricom internet speeds drops frequently. The speed so low. At times 4.7Mbps. New starlink internet speeds hits 100 Mbps. This saves lives. And it’s not affected by weather” governor Irungu kang’ta tweeted on X.

Rental option

Since its launch, starlink has doubled its use in march 2024 according to business daily. In August 2024, the rental option for starlink kits was introduced making it more accessible.

Customers can now rent the hardware for KSH 1,950 a month, with an additional one-time activation fee of KSH 2,730 which addresses its cost.

High-speed internet

Starlink Uses Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide internet access compared to Safaricom which provides internet through cellular networks and fiber cables.

This means starlink offers high-speed internet in areas where traditional infrastructure is lacking or non-existent like the rural areas.

It has speeds ranging from 50 Mbps to 250 Mbps, depending on the region and network consumption. Safaricom is not reliable mostly in rural areas.

Affordable and cheaper

In their page, starlink said it offers affordable, high-speed internet with 50GB of data included for Ksh1,300/month (opt-in for additional data at Ksh20/GB).

Compared to Safaricom, Starlink offers an unlimited monthly package for Ksh6,500 while Safaricom Diamond Plus Monthly Package offers 40mbps for Ksh12,499 which makes it cheaper and people are likely to go for starlink.