The telco has slashed router costs and targets fibre-dark zones to reclaim upcountry floor.
Safaricom has quietly escalated its efforts to counter Starlink by increasing 5G rollout into rural Kenya, the market the satellite tv for pc web service supplier (ISP) was constructed to serve. Over the previous six months, it has deployed tens of recent websites in areas beforehand off its broadband map. Safaricom’s gross sales groups are concentrating on upcountry customers with reasonably priced, plug-and-play 5G routers bundled with versatile information plans and branded giveaways like free t-shirts.
Not less than 5 prospects in Western Kenya informed TechCabal that Safaricom salespeople have been within the area since January, pitching the 5G router to them. “They signed me up in two minutes,” mentioned Paminus Osike, a brand new person in Kenya’s Nyanza province. “Starlink’s preliminary price is simply too excessive, and I like that this connection isn’t mounted, however I can transfer round with it.” The gross sales workforce that signed him up additionally sells energy banks for KES 5,000 ($39) to assist prospects keep related on the transfer.
One other buyer, who runs a small cybercafe enterprise, informed TechCabal that he in contrast Safaricom’s 5G router with a rival machine and selected to maintain Safaricom’s for its velocity and bigger information allocation.
Safaricom is attempting to reclaim floor the place conventional ISPs underdelivered and the place Starlink discovered early momentum. It’s a shift from Safaricom’s previous city focus and reveals a brand new push into low-average income per person (ARPU) areas.
Starlink launched in Kenya in 2023 to attach areas the place fibre and cell broadband had failed. By late 2024, it was already the nation’s seventh-largest ISP, with over 19,000 energetic subscriptions, primarily in distant counties like elements of the Rift Valley, the place broadband protection stays patchy.
In 2024, Safaricom had proposed regulatory adjustments concentrating on satellite tv for pc suppliers, arguing that licensing entities with out a bodily presence left the federal government with little management. The Communications Authority has not taken up the proposal, so Safaricom is now betting on worth and broader entry as an alternative.
Starlink’s demand has surged in city centres as an alternative, regardless of its pricing mannequin which doesn’t favour cheaper, pay-as-you-go purchases. In Nairobi, it paused new sign-ups attributable to restricted capability. The community delivers the identical bandwidth no matter inhabitants, so busy areas shortly hit efficiency limits.
In response, Safaricom has doubled fibre speeds and launched gigabit plans to satisfy the rising city demand. It’s positioning itself as a less expensive and extra adaptable possibility in cities the place Starlink’s mannequin falls quick and in rural areas the place Starlink is making an attempt to thrive.
Worth cuts to coincide with rural enlargement
In rural Kenya, folks wouldn’t have disposable money for web companies. Many are price-sensitive and may’t afford routers, that are seen as a luxurious. Safaricom’s technique of providing low-cost routers and versatile cost choices goals to make 5G extra accessible to those communities.
Safaricom’s new 5G supply challenges Starlink on {hardware} and suppleness. Routers now promote for KES 3,000 ($23), down from KES 25,000 ($192), an enormous worth drop that coincided with its rural enlargement.
The routers fall again to 4G when 5G isn’t accessible. Some are offered door-to-door, with M-PESA cost choices, mirroring gross sales ways utilized by photo voltaic residence system corporations. Month-to-month plans begin at KES 4,000 ($31) for 50 Mbps and go as much as KES 10,000 ($77) for 250 Mbps.
Starlink’s fundamental mini package prices KES 27,000 ($208), whereas its customary package ranges from KES 30,000 to KES 45,000 ($231-$347). Month-to-month plans stay mounted between KES 1,300 ($10) and KES 6,500 ($50), relying on tier. Roaming and mounting necessities add to the price and restrict flexibility.
Safaricom is stepping up its rollout as an alternative of ready to see what Starlink does. It’s actively constructing out 5G, decreasing prices, and utilizing acquainted cell infrastructure to achieve extra customers. Whereas Starlink works on floor stations to ease congestion, Safaricom affords a sensible, domestically accessible different.
The telco declined to reveal what number of prospects use its 5G routers.
Telcos are shifting in Africa
Telcos throughout Africa are pushing again towards Starlink’s low-cost entry mannequin. In Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Cameroon, operators accuse it of unfair competitors for skipping the heavy funding in cables and towers. In Zimbabwe, Liquid Dwelling has needed to reduce costs, TelOne has teamed up with OneWeb, and in Nigeria, Starlink has develop into the third-largest ISP in below two years.
Safaricom is utilizing its cell community to advertise 5G as an actual Starlink challenger in Kenya, particularly in underserved areas. It now has 1,114 5G websites throughout 102 cities, reaching all 47 counties and masking about 14% of the inhabitants. Over 780,000 5G smartphones are energetic, and greater than 11,000 enterprise shoppers use its 5G companies.
