American satellite internet service provider Starlink has introduced a kit rental option in Kenya.
Starlink, the satellite arm of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, announced the offer this week, and it will see customers pay a one-time activation fee of Ksh.2,700.
One will then pay a monthly hardware rental fee of Ksh.1,950, while the service plans start at Ksh.1,300 a month. The company says the rental option gives customers the same internet speeds of up to 200Mbps.
Since entering the Kenyan market in July 2023, Starlink has increasingly offered competitively priced internet packages and better speed.
But its hardware cost is what has kept off many potential buyers.
When it was introduced to Kenya, the Starlink kit cost Ksh.74,000, but the price went down as they began being sold at retail chain stores like Carrefour and online marketplaces like Jumia.
Earlier this year, the company announced an offer to reduce the hardware costs to as low as Ksh.39,500 and last month, it gave another deal, selling the kit from Ksh.29,000.
Starlink has also been rolling out cheaper service plans to take on local internet providers like market leader Safaricom and Airtel
For instance, the satellite company last month unveiled a 50 GB monthly data plan worth Ksh.1,300, compared to Airtel’s Ksh.3,000 shillings for a similar package.
Safaricom’s 45GB monthly plan goes for Ksh.2,500.
