Kenya set to increase Starlink and other ISPs operating licensing fee by 1000%

Satellite internet providers (ISPs) in Kenya such as Starlink are set to experience a surge in their licensing fees following a proposal by the Kenya Communication Authority (CA). The agency seeks to review the Satellite Landing Rights (SLR) license it requires for satellite ISPs to obtain to operate in the country.

The approval of the proposal is set to see a 15-year operating license rise by a whopping 1,000 per cent from $12,302 to $115,331. On another end, the move also requires ISPs to pay an annual fee equivalent to 0.4 per cent of their total revenue.

According to CA, it explained that the review is centred on expanding the coverage of satellite investors within the West African country borders. 

“This change aims to ensure technology neutrality and allow investors to land signals using any technology to remove certain market entry and operational barriers identified over time,” the statement reads.

Under the new guidelines, the CA is also looking to broaden the operational scope for satellite ISPs. This will see satellite providers have access to manage resources such as tracking facilities, telemetry systems, terrestrial cables, and conduct space research.

“Licensees should be allowed to establish satellite systems, including hub facilities, and provide satellite services, provided they comply with the geographical scope principle (at least three counties in Kenya),” CA said.

The regulator change, which was published in December, comes at a time when Starlink seeks to expand in Kenya. The move is set to make the SpaceX satellite internet provider ground stations in the country as it seeks to address the growing demand for high-speed internet connectivity. 

The emergence of Starlink and other ISPs in Kenya

Starlink’s entry into Kenya around July 2023 has led to an increase in satellite internet users in the country, data from the CA revealed. As of December 2024, Starlink had grown by over 1,000 per cent in the West African country and has registered over 8,500 users.

According to the fourth quarter industry statistics report by Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA), subscribers grew by a really impressive 1,955.3%.

As of June 2024, the report showed that satellite data subscribers stood at 8,324. This represents a 73.1 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter which ended in March 2024 when the number of subscribers stood at 4,808. As of June last year, a month before the launch of Starlink, the number of satellite subscribers was only 405.

“Satellite subscriptions maintained an upward trend following the launch of Starlink services during the year, with 96.9 per cent of satellite customers subscribed to speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps,” the Communications Authority said in its report.

The report also noted that the total lit international internet Bandwidth Capacity in the country grew by 2.4 per cent to 21,244.338 Gbps by the end of June 2024. The utilization of Undersea Bandwidth Capacity also rose by 31.3 per cent to record 14,644.284 Gbps. Of this total, 11,690.464 Gbps, representing 55 per cent of the total, were used in the country while 2,953.820 Gbps representing 13.9 per cent were sold outside the country.

Around November, Starlink suspended new subscriptions to its service in parts of Kenya which include the capital, Nairobi, and six other counties. According to the company, the reason for the suspension was due to a network overload as too many users were trying to access the service and there wasn’t enough space.

The Elon Musk Satellite internet provider explained that the overload was mainly a result of its affordable internet plans being sold out. Therefore, only those plans that cost above Ksh130,000 per month were still available. 

“Nairobi and neighbouring areas are currently at network capacity. This means that too many users are trying to access the Starlink service within Nairobi and there isn’t enough bandwidth to support additional residential or roaming customers at this time,” the company said in a mail to its customers.

In light of this, customers in Nairobi and other affected counties raised concerns about the company failing to provide roaming service plans through which they could bypass the restrictions affecting the regions. 

The company responded that roaming services are not available in Kenya but that the team is working to restore services in affected areas and that users will get notifications once the service comes back on.

Read More: Starlink suspends new subscriptions in Kenya citing network overload.