Starlink, the tech company owned by South African billionaire Elon Musk has recently announced plans to break into the Nigerian telecoms market. This development has been regarded by many as a trigger point that will set off a new wave of competition among the telecommunications service providers in the country.
However, this new challenger faces stiff competition from internet services like MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9mobile, and over 200 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who between them boast millions of loyal subscribers and have the advantage of being licensed earlier by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
According to reports, Starlink licenses were acquired from the NCC only yesterday, Friday, 27th May 2022, and included both an International Gateway license and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) license. With the latter license, the company will be battling for customers with the top ISPs in Nigeria like Spectranet and FibreOne, among others, as well as the mobile network operators, who currently possess the larger chunk of internet customers in Nigeria.
So although Starlink would have an edge over the other service providers as it would be providing its service via satellite—which has the advantage of being able to be accessed anywhere in the country—experts have warned that its survival will depend on how competitive its prices are.
