Starlink, SpaceX’s space internet service, which is located in Redmond, Washington, is now officially available to users in Malawi. Users in Malawi are now able to sign up for and utilise the internet service provided by Starlink in the country.
The engine behind the News
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) made the announcement that Starlink had been granted permission to operate as an internet service provider in the country Starlink the previous year.
The news that the internet service is now completely functional was reported by Starlink in a tweet earlier today.
Read also: To operate in South Africa, Starlink must comply with specific regulations
The overarching context
Starlink is now officially available in four African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and now Malawi. These countries are all in Africa.
Starlink is in the process of acquiring a licence in Ghana in preparation for the service’s launch there in the fourth quarter of 2024.
About Starlink
Starlink is a satellite Internet constellation that is maintained by the American aerospace company SpaceX. Starlink provides coverage for satellite Internet access to more than 60 nations across the world. In addition to this, it plans to implement worldwide mobile phone service after the year 2023. 2019 marked the beginning of SpaceX’s launch of Starlink satellites.
After their launch, around 200 Starlink satellites have since been rendered inoperable due to problems that occurred while they were in orbit, deorbiting either on purpose or by accident, or both.
According to the Starlink app, the Starlink router can support a maximum of 128 devices simultaneously.
On January 31, 2023, the Starlink service provided by SpaceX became operational in Nigeria. The business announced on Twitter that it has begun operations in the nation, writing, “Starlink is now available in Nigeria – the first African country to receive service.”
Starlink installation in Nigeria has a one-time fee of 274,098 ($595) for hardware and installation, while subsequent subscriptions have a fee of 19,260 ($42) per month.
According to the Ookla analysis, the median download speed for Starlink in Nigeria is 61.75 Mbps, making it a speedier alternative than the sum of all of the other fixed broadband providers.
Elon Musk came up with the idea for SpaceX’s Starlink internet, which is a provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service. Starlink Internet is one of the few satellite internet providers that offers unlimited data, speeds that are faster than broadband for the majority of its plans, and lower latency than its competitors.
Tizeti and the other local players might not be as fast as Starlink, but because of their pricing, they are more reasonable entry points for people who live in rural areas. Coollink’s service may be had for as little as $15 per month (7,000 yen), while Tizeti’s is available for $1.2 per month (with a limit of 1 GB per month). Starlink’s monthly fee is $43 (19,333 yen).
Starlink is a paid service, and its customers will never have access to it for free of charge in its entirety. However, there are few situations in which Starlink has supplied their satellite internet connection without charging customers.
One example of this is when they partnered with T Mobile, and another is when there was a crisis in Ukraine.