Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service, Starlink, is rapidly losing ground in Kenya, a market once seen as critical to its African expansion.
After an initial wave of excitement at its launch, many Kenyan customers are now disconnecting from Starlink and returning to local internet service providers (ISPs) offering faster speeds, lower prices, and better customer support.
Starlink initially attracted users with promises of fast and reliable internet, but for many, that promise has not been fully delivered.
“Starlink’s high costs and slow speeds have deterred many users,” said Chris Orwa, a Nairobi-based data analyst and former subscriber.
A recent report from Kenya’s Communications Authority shows Starlink lost more than 10% of its subscribers in the first quarter of 2025, with over 2,000 customers leaving during that time.
This decline came despite an 8% growth in Kenya’s fixed internet market, meaning overall demand is rising but Starlink is losing share to competitors.
According to Bloomberg, Orwa had signed up when local ISPs were experiencing outages, but soon found the service disappointing.
While Starlink claims speeds of 25 to 220 Mbps, Ookla recorded a median download speed of just 47 Mbps in Kenya as of May.
At one point, Orwa’s connection slowed to 10 Mbps, yet he was paying about 15,000 shillings per month for service improvements and maintenance, more than three times the cost of many local providers.
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Currently, Starlink markets a 4,000 shilling ($31) monthly plan with hardware costing 27,000 shillings, but the package has limitations.
The standard residential plan, which includes prioritized data, can cost up to 6,500 shillings per month, with hardware prices nearly double.
Users like Orwa say they have been forced to upgrade to more expensive tiers when network capacity in their area is full, driving costs even higher.
The situation worsened in late 2024 when Starlink temporarily halted new urban sign-ups due to network congestion, especially in Nairobi and other densely populated areas.
This pause, a stark contrast to the previous month when satellite data subscriptions had jumped by 1,955.3 in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, allowed rivals to make competitive moves.
“Other internet service providers have made interventions to make their services more appealing,” said Kenyan technology analyst and early Starlink user Moses Kemibaro.
These changes included offering more bandwidth at lower prices and improving customer service, areas where Starlink has struggled.
Customer service remains a major frustration for Starlink users in Kenya, with no physical office in the country and only online support available.
Orwa said his hardware problem, reported in October 2024, was never resolved.
“Starlink’s online support was not enough,” he said.
As competition intensifies and local ISPs become more affordable and responsive, Starlink’s once-strong position in Kenya is showing clear signs of decline.
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Image Credit: Naijafeed
