Elon Musk says Starlink to begin internet service in Nigeria next month

The founder of satellite company, Starlink, Elon Musk, has revealed when the company’s operation will start in Nigeria, as the firm prepares to compete against MTN Nigeria, Airtel and Globacom.

Recall that Starlink planned to come into Nigeria’s telecommunication market in late 2022, but moved the timeframe forward to the third quarter of this year.

Musk on Sunday, via his Twitter account, disclosed that Starlink service will commence next month, August, in Nigeria, three months after the world richest man informed his 102 million followers that the government had approved its operation.

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“Service turns on next month, which is the same time required to deliver a user terminal, so order now.” Musk wrote in response to an enquiry by a Nigerian Twitter user.

Starlink plans to offer data service in Africa’s largest economy, but will face competition from the market leader, MTN Nigeria, as well as other network providers, Airtel Nigeria, Glo and 9mobile.

The company is currently operational in 36 countries, and expects 4200 satellites in operation within 18 months, as disclosed by Musk in March 2022, but it has 1469 active satellites in operation as of January report, serving over 400,000 subscribers globally.