The Starlink internet router, which cost N800,000 on April 9, now costs N440,000, according to a Wednesday price change in Nigeria. The internet service subscription remains N38,000 per month.
The hardware sold for N378,000 for a month. An early March increment, perhaps due to the falling naira, raised the price to N800,000.
Starlink did not explain the price drop, but the recent rise of the naira against the US dollar and other currencies may have influenced it.
Additionally, SpaceX’s internet company lowered its South African hardware prices. Despite not being licenced in South Africa, where Musk was born, South Africans use Starlink via global or regional roaming.
Starlink confirmed it has a market in the country in an X ad earlier this week by lowering its hardware price from ZAR 12,000 to ZAR 6,800, a 43% drop.
Read also: Nigerian Naira gains 7.2% against the dollar
Naira Value slashed Starlink Router prices.
This week, reports said the naira has increased and reached its highest level versus the dollar since January 2024. The naira rose for the fourth week to N1,245 per dollar amid rising confidence.
The Nigerian local currency ended the week at N1,251.05/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), up against the US dollar at the official window for the fourth straight trading day in April 2024.
Governor Olayemi Cardoso’s CBN has implemented many strategies to boost local dollar liquidity and liberate the naira.
Nigeria uses Starlink routers.
Starlink, launched in Nigeria in January 2023, has garnered interest from Nigerians who want to switch ISPs despite its higher prices.
Starlink’s widespread satellite service also attracts customers in places with inadequate internet connections.
Read also: Nigerians rush Konga’s 50% discount on Starlink Satellite Internet
According to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Starlink is now one of the leading ISPs in Nigeria in terms of customer numbers. As of Q3 2023, Starlink Nigeria had 11,207 customers.
In Nigeria, many local ISPs that have been in business for a while now have fewer users than that.
Before Starlink’s January 2023 announcement, Nigerians had pre-ordered its hardware since 2022. The startup initially offered $600 for gear and $43 for subscriptions in dollars but switched to naira upon announcement.