Musk’s StarLink terminals sold out in Zimbabwe capital as demand soars

Nigeria and Zimbabwe are the only two African nations where Starlink terminals have sold out.

Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals sold out in Zimbabwe’s capital of Harare, less than two months after receiving permission from authorities to operate in the southern African nation.

Harare now joins five cities in Nigeria — which include its capital of Abuja as well as Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Warri — where the high-speed internet service has sold out, according to a map on Starlink’s website.

A Starlink terminal

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Nigeria and Zimbabwe are the only two African nations where Starlink terminals have sold out, which means consumers there can’t place new orders for terminals because “the service is not available in the area,” according to Starlink.

Demand for Starlink services in Zimbabwe has soared since the Space X-linked company received an operating permit in early September. Consumers are directly ordering the terminals from its website, bypassing a once-popular street market that resold the kits at exorbitant prices to consumers. The street market has collapsed.

Meanwhile, local internet service providers in the southern African nation are slashing their prices in an effort to retain customers and fend off the US company’s entry into the domestic market.

Starlink — which serves more than 2.6 million customers globally — delivers broadband internet beamed down from a constellation of 5 500 satellites that SpaceX began deploying in 2019.

© 2024 Bloomberg

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