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Starlink slashes price of internet hardware by 45%
Elon Musk’s internet service company, Starlink, has slashed the price of its hardware by 45% in Nigeria.
The Starlink internet hardware, which was being sold for N800,000 as of April 9, now costs N440,000, according to a new price update released by the company on Wednesday.
However, the internet service’s monthly subscription remains unchanged at N38,000 per month.
Until about a month ago, the hardware had been selling for N378,000. Early March saw an increment, likely due to the declining value of the naira, which resulted in a price jump to N800,000.
While the company did not state any reason for the price slash, the recent appreciation of the naira against the US dollar and other foreign currencies may have influenced Starlink’s decision.
Starlink’s hardware used to cost about N378,000 until about a month ago. Prices increased following the persistent decline in the naira’s value. The naira has since appreciated from record lows close to N2,000/$ to N1230.61/$ as of April 8, 2024, on the official window.
The internet company has also slashed its hardware prices in South Africa from ZAR 12,000 to ZAR 6,800 earlier in the week. In recent months, the firm has been announcing launches in different countries, including Mongolia and Argentina.
Since going live in Nigeria in January 2023, Starlink has grown its subscriber base to 11,207, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (third quarter of 2023). Nigeria was the firm’s first African operation country and its 47th globally.
