Coffee with Starlink
If you were having coffee with me I would welcome you to my tangle of words. Welcome welcome don’t mind the whoosh of high speed low latency internet.
So incase you missed the memo, Starlink internet is now available in Zimbabwe… It went live shortly before midnight on the 7th of September officially making Zimbabwe the 14th African country to have Starlink services.
We have had an interesting relationship with Starlink services, earlier in the year we had declared the satellite communications as a threat to our sovereignty. The telecommunications regulatory authority even requested that Starlink disconnect access to the service until it had gone through the proper licensing and approval channels. Using the service was deemed illegal which some a couple of people get fined and the equipment confiscated.
There was a blitz to arrest unauthorised resellers of the equipment who had been blatantly been advertising on social media, with one pointed out as being the child of senior government officials. Ironically it was also revealed that some state operated services such as the national broadcaster had been using Starlink services and had paid almost five times the official price for the equipment.
The government warned that it would raid and arrest people who sell, advertise or own unlicensed Starlink equipment. Enterprising folk offered services where the kit could be disguised to look like another installation such as a floodlight or solar panel… some people simply painted over their kits to hide from drone surveillance to flush out unlicensed Starlink users.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that in May the president announced that he had approved Starlink granting IMC with the sole distribution license. This announcement was received with mixed reactions with people excited about the approval while others were enraged that a company with ties to a businessman who ghosted with the funds for a solar contract and tied to other corruption scandals had secured such a position.
Information from various channels suggests Starlink was not keen on partnering with the government’s preferred selection and that there was a stalemate over various regulatory modalities. POTRAZ would eventually announce that there was no exclusive distribution rights to Starlink with the service projected to go live in Q3 of 2024.
And here we are ^_^
Starlink is now officially available in Zimbabwe with basic residential plan costing $50 a month on the standard kit and $30 a month for the Starlink mini kit. Those who had reserved their kits from the Starlink website received emails requesting they complete their order or be refunded. Delivery of the first batch of kits is expected in 1-2 weeks.
Meanwhile those who already had the kits, never mind how, are now able to change from the roaming plan which costs $100 to the residential plan by transferring their kit to a new account with a Zimbabwean address. While Elon Musk has confirmed the service, I am yet to see any official updates from the government Minister of ICT or even POTRAZ… and what it means for those who had been using the service illegally… is all forgiven? 🤔
The arrival of Starlink services in Zimbabwe has ripples in the communication sector were consumers have always complained about expensive internet. From the general conversation most would love it if the Starlink sounded a death knell for other providers for the way they have been treating them.
While Starlink is not going to claim a large market share overnight and its not a direct competitor to some internet providers, it’s the much needed wakeup call for them to adjust their products. In countries that already have good internet coverage at affordable prices Starlink, is not the fearsome competition that will steal your business. Service providers are already trying to create new packages and some have reported an increase in internet speed as if they had previously been holding back on us just to fleece us.
Econet has a Smartbiz product that seems a direct response to Starlink with Econet offering mobile broadband with prices starting at $45 per month for an unlimited 5mbps connection. When the service was launched earlier in the year the same package cost $70 and its gotten quite the price slash… is that you Starlink effect?
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that were I a betting man, I would put all my money on the bet that we going to see an introduction of competitive internet packages from various internet service providers. So you see, even if one doesn’t directly use Starlink, the Starlink effect will still find them… And for those who might want to say that the pricing for the equipment is prohibitive to some, well, there’s an idea of co-sharing the subscription and setup costs.
In another interesting development, I am curious if Starlink has anything to do with it, but the telecoms regulation authority through Statutory Instrument 154 of 2024 announced that internet service providers will now be fined if Quality Of Service service is not upto standard falls below certain KPIs.
What a time to be alive… But then cant help wonder on the practicality of it, where for a start I know most of our internet struggles to deliver a consistent speed and network. Also with the electricity situation, service tends to degrade during periods of extended load-shedding as some cell towers don’t have adequate backup power or alternative power solutions and running diesel generators for long periods is expensive.. I predict a lot of fines coming through, someone might have just found a new cash cow, which I suspect is why this was rolled out and not for the protection of the actual consumer. *sips coffee*
Whats been going on in your neck of the woods? Its school opening week and the back to school drama is on.
~B
As I was doing my audio recording for the podcast version of my blog, I was thinking about how cool it be if I had a voice as iconic as James Earl Jones. The Lion Sleeps tonite…. Rest well to the voice behind Mufasa, Darth Vader and King Jaffe Joffer
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