Elon Musk announces Starlink gets Nigerian govt approval, lists what Nigerians should expect
- After months of negotiation, Elon Musk has revealed his telecommunication company, Starlink has received approval to operate in Nigeria
- Starlink has a global reach after the company spent between $5 billion and $10 billion to launch thousands of satellite
- Elon Musk's company will now challenge already established MTN, Airtel, 9mobile and the other registered Internet Service Providers for market share
World Richest man, Elon Musk on Friday, 27 May revealed that after months of negotiation his company, Starlink has been approved to operate in Nigeria by the Federal government.
Musk’s Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 32 countries where its use has been licensed.
It is expected that Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe. Within each coverage area, orders are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Source: Getty Images
NCC speaks
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) confirmed to Nairametrics that it has licensed Starlink, a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 32 countries. This licensing followed a visit to Nigeria by the company’s team in May last year.
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It said
“The company received two licenses, which include the International Gateway license and Internet Service Provider (ISP) license, and will be trading as Starlink Internet Services Nigeria Ltd.
According to NCC, the International Gateway license has a 10-year tenure while the ISP license is to last for five years. Both licenses take effect from May 2022 and may be renewed after the expiration.”
Types of licence
Musk Starlink will operate under the Internet Service Provider (ISP) category and will be trading as Starlink Internet Services Nigeria Ltd.
According to NCC, the license, which takes effect from May 2022 is to last for ten years, after which it may be renewed.
Starlinks benefits
Starlink promises to bring high speeds and latency as low as 20 minutes in most locations, Starlink enables video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet.
Users also have the option to take Starlink with them via the Portability feature or Starlink.
List of top internet providers in Nigeria by subscribers
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier ranked the top 10 internet service providers using their number of subscribers.
NCC database shows that there are currently 190 ISPs with active licences and daily these companies compete for a slice of the nation's internet user base.
The number of internet users in Nigeria has risen in the previous ten years, with the NCC reporting over 100 million.
Source: Legit.ng
