47 countries can access the internet via satellite thanks to the Starlink constellation, which is run by SpaceX. After 2023, it also wants to provide international mobile phone service. Starlink satellite launches by SpaceX began in 2019. In low Earth orbit (LEO) as of December 2022, Starlink comprises of approximately 3,300 mass-produced tiny satellites that connect with specialized ground transceivers. Approximately 12,000 satellites will be deployed in total, with a potential later increase to 42,000. In December 2022, SpaceX predicted it will reach a million subscribers.
Starlink Live in Nigeria
Customers in Nigeria can now access Starlink, an Elon Musk-owned satellite internet service.
The change occurs a few weeks after the presale sales were revealed.
Customers who were interested in the beginning kits could preorder them for $600 for the hardware and $43 per month for service subscriptions, according to the business.
Starlink announced that its service is fully operational in the nation in a tweet on its Twitter page on Tuesday.
The tweet states that Nigeria is the first country in Africa to have Starlink service available.
In the meantime, the business claimed on its website that buyers could acquire its services for a lesser price with a 30-day free trial.
The notification stated that although the gear would cost N274,098, the membership would cost N19,260.
“Starlink is now accessible in your region. Customers in your area frequently see Internet speeds between 50 and 200 Mbps. 30-day trial, no obligations, the business stated.
“At this moment, shipping timeframes are anticipated to take one to two weeks following order… N274,098 for hardware and N19,260 per month for service.
Isa Pantami, minister of communications and the digital economy, confirmed the development and called it a landmark.
“We succeeded once more. He wrote, “Thank you @SpaceX for hosting me in your offices in the United States in December 2022 to finish the deployment logistics.
According to a 2021 TheCable story, the business was negotiating with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to obtain the licenses required for a launch since it considered Nigeria to be a crucial market.
Elon Musk revealed that the installation of Starlink in Nigeria had been authorized a year later.
Few Nigerian libraries gain free access to Starlink
The Gigabit Libraries Network and the National Library of Nigeria has signed an agreement to ensure that five public libraries gain free access to Starlink’s LEO satellite broadband system.
In a statement made available on the GLN website on Tuesday, the network noted that the five libraries selected would be the first set of libraries to have such connection on the African continent.
“The Gigabit Libraries Network, today announced an agreement with the Nigeria National Library to outfit five public libraries as users of SpaceX/Starlink’s LEO satellite broadband system. These are the first libraries to have such a connection on the continent.
“Working in partnership with the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions to initiate a set of five pilot projects in Abuja and Lagos, the library sites will be part of a wider study on capabilities and potential benefits of this innovative and potentially revolutionary communications capability that can reach almost anywhere on the planet.
“In many African communities, the library is the only place to access free and/or cheap Internet. Getting libraries connected to fast, stable and affordable Internet, can be the only link between young people and opportunities; between learning new skills and making the mark for better employment prospects and between access to information that can debunk rumours and falsehoods.” The statement partly reads.”
The PUNCH reports that Starlink now delivers broadband service in forty-five countries and more nations granting operating permits with Nigeria becoming the first in Africa to see service launched.
Implementation of LEO technology appears to be yielding faster connection speeds with lower latency than traditional geostationary satellite based services, though with outstanding questions of capacity over time as more users participate.
“There are many things to learn about how these new systems can serve towards closing the persistent global digital divide as well as integrate into the wider telecom ecosystem. Being essentially impervious to power and/or internet outages, these space based connectivity systems increase community resilience against extreme weather disaster events,” says Don Means, GLN Director.
Traditional communications infrastructures rely on terrestrial networks of wires and towers extending out from the internet backbone. As that distance increases so do the costs of provision making end user services typically less affordable and therefore less likely to even be built.
LEO systems combined with the myriad services of public or community libraries, together respond to the three primary barriers to adoption which inhibit access for some three plus billion people worldwide. Those barriers include availability, affordability and usability according to GLN’s “LEO Libraries” overview.
Starlink hardware with 24 months of service had been donated by the company in support of community access at public libraries.
