Connecting Africa: The Performance and Impact of Starlink's Satellite Internet

Satellite technology is transforming broadband access and reshaping the telecom market in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), thanks to new players such as Starlink. With its wide coverage and increasing affordability, it presents a chance to close the connectivity gap in rural areas while also appealing to urban users. This article examines the performance of Starlink services in SSA, compares them to terrestrial services, and assesses their impact on the broadband market.

Key Takeaways:

• Starlink outperforms terrestrial ISPs in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of download speed, though it falls short on latency. While speed varies across the continent, Starlink delivered a median download speed exceeding 40 Mbps in Q1 2025 in most countries where it’s available, significantly outpacing terrestrial ISPs. However, latency remains high, though the deployment of local Points of Presence (PoP) has considerably reduced the delay in some East African countries, like Kenya, to below 60 ms.
• Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, and Ghana lead the continent in median download speeds: Starlink users in these countries experienced a download speed of around and above 75 Mbps in Q1 2025. In contrast, speeds in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Kenya, and Madagascar –arguably some of Starlink’s biggest markets– were below 50 Mbps, most likely because the provider faces capacity issues and halts new sign-ups. Nevertheless, these speeds are still much more than double those of terrestrial networks in Q1 2025 in most countries.
• Starlink’s entry into the African market has significantly increased access to fixed broadband, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya, where it has become competitive. However, regulatory hurdles and varying costs across countries highlight the complexities of expanding satellite internet services in the region. Partnerships with local telecom operators are crucial for Starlink to enter new markets and provide more affordable internet services to underserved areas.

Starlink’s network performance is generally excellent across Africa, though it varies significantly by country

Starlink operates thousands of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet globally. With 4.6 million customers globally, the service targets expansion in underserved markets, such as Africa, to drive its growth. Since its launch in 2019, the network has expanded to more than 7,000 satellites, covering most of the globe. Starlink’s rapid expansion across Africa began with Nigeria in February 2023 and Rwanda in March 2023. The service now reaches 18 countries, with plans to add at least 10 more by the end of the year. 

Starlink offers a speed advantage over fixed alternatives in many African countries, potentially offering great experiences in downloading files and live streaming. However, its performance varies significantly. Using Speedtest Intelligence data, we identified three countries’ tiers based on median download speeds. Note that this analysis does not include Benin, Cape Verde, and Liberia. We will revisit these markets as Starlink’s service expands and more data becomes available.

• 85+ Mbps. This includes Rwanda, Eswatini (Swaziland), and Botswana, which achieved speeds of 85.53 Mbps, 86.18 Mbps, and 106.36 Mbps, respectively. 
• 70-80 Mbps. A solid group of six countries falls into this category, ranging from Zambia (69.73 Mbps) to Burundi (79.47 Mbps).
• Under 50 Mbps. Madagascar, Kenya, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria lag behind, with speeds between 44 Mbps and 50 Mbps. 

Kenya stands out prominently with the highest upload speed, nearing 15 Mbps. Ghana and Rwanda are not far behind, both exceeding 13 Mbps. A strong upper tier – including Burundi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Botswana – also demonstrates healthy performance, with speeds above 10 Mbps. On the other hand, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar lag, with upload speeds remaining below 9 Mbps.

One of the significant advantages of LEO satellite systems like Starlink over GEO and MEO is their proximity to Earth, which reduces signal travel distance and results in lower latency. However, there still is a need for local Points of Presence (PoP) that act as ground-based internet gateways to relay user data from satellites to major internet exchange points (IXPs). That is why they are near high-speed fiber networks to minimize data travel time. Starlink has established two Points of Presence (PoP) in Africa—Nigeria and Kenya— to help lower latency, and the impact is visible. During Q1 2025, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda led the continent in median multi-server latency at 53 ms, 60 ms, and 67 ms, respectively. Latency in the remaining countries varied considerably, with most experiencing delays between 100 and 185 ms. A few countries, such as Madagascar and Sierra Leone, had very high lags, making them unsuitable for latency-sensitive gaming and video conferencing applications.

Deployment of a new PoP significantly enhanced user experience in East Africa

East African countries saw a significant leap in both Starlink’s upload speeds and latency, likely linked to deploying a new PoP in Nairobi in January 2025. For instance, Kenya more than doubled its upload speeds between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, reaching 14.85 Mbps. Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia also saw substantial gains, with upload speeds increasing by over 60%. Other East African countries experienced more moderate increases in median upload speed, ranging from 25% in Madagascar to nearly 59% in Mozambique.

The same countries have experienced significant latency reductions. Kenya and Rwanda saw drops of 81% and 70% in multi-server latency in Q1 2025 compared to Q4 2024 to reach 53 ms and 67 ms. Most other countries in East Africa saw a reduction ranging from 42% in Botswana to 62% in South Sudan. This highlights the crucial role local PoPs play in optimizing Starlink’s performance. This enhancement not only makes the satellite service more competitive with terrestrial ISPs but also unlocks a better user experience, particularly for latency-sensitive applications like gaming and video conferencing.

Starlink outperforms terrestrial ISPs across Africa in terms of download speed but lags in terms of latency

Network performance and price are crucial in attracting users from existing fixed broadband solutions, whether DSL or fiber. According to Speedtest Intelligence, Starlink delivers substantially higher median download speeds than the overall median for other ISPs across all surveyed markets. For example, Starlink offers median speeds of 106.36 Mbps and 86.18 Mbps in Botswana and Eswatini, respectively—far exceeding the 9.36 Mbps and 13.6 Mbps provided by other ISPs. In Burundi and Mozambique, the Starlink-to-other-ISP download speed ratio is also high at 7.6 and 6.6, respectively. Even in Ghana and Rwanda, with the fastest median download speed for terrestrial ISPs at 44.66 Mbps and 44.15 Mbps in Q1 2025, respectively, Starlink outperformed them with 75.1 Mbps and 85.5 Mbps.

More generally, Starlink is still faster than other ISPs in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia by a factor of 2 to 4. The speed difference is less than double in a few spots, like Ghana, Rwanda, and Madagascar.

Despite significant improvements in latency in Q1 2025, as discussed above, they remain higher than terrestrial networks. Even in countries with high latency, Starlink may still be valuable in remote areas where terrestrial ISPs are unavailable, especially since its download speed is usually many times that of traditional ISPs.

Starlink’s latency is quite competitive at under 70 ms in Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda, thanks to its local PoPs. Starlink also offers a latency of less than 200 ms in most African countries, often 2 to 5 times higher than what is available through terrestrial ISPs. The largest gap in latency is found in Ghana, a market with a high fiber share of the fixed broadband market, where Starlink’s latency is nearly 10 times higher than what fiber users can experience, at just under 13 ms.

Starlink’s expansion across Africa continues amidst regulatory challenges in several countries

While consumers and businesses are eager to adopt the service due to its superior speeds compared to fixed broadband,  ISPs are concerned about the competition Starlink poses, given their substantial investments in local network infrastructure. While some regions have embraced the service, others have imposed stringent foreign ownership and ISP licensing regulations, delaying Starlink’s deployment. Starlink has partnered with local equipment distributors (such as Paratus Group) and ISPs to navigate these challenges, leveraging existing licenses.

The cost of a Starlink subscription varies significantly by country in Africa, while hardware costs for the terminal range between US$200 and US$700, making the service prohibitive to most businesses and households across the continent. However, Starlink has offered steep discounts in countries where traditional fixed broadband services are expensive, such as in Zimbabwe, where Starlink offers unlimited internet in Zimbabwe for US$30 per month (excluding the reception kit), compared to more than US$100 for a standard fiber package. In Kenya, the Starlink “Residential Lite” plan costs around US$30 per month, and the terminal equipment is available for monthly lease.

These initiatives directly boosted its popularity and the growth of its customer base. For example, Starlink became the country’s second-largest ISP in Nigeria in Q3 2024, with 65,564 subscribers in Q3 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In Kenya, satellite service subscribers more than doubled between June and September 2024 to 17,042 (representing 1.4% of fixed wired subscriptions). Demand has reached a point where Starlink halted sign-ups in some of the biggest cities across Africa, like Abuja and Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), Lusaka (Zambia), and Harare (Zimbabwe), due to capacity limitations. However, the launch of Starlink’s newer satellites with greater capacity than the initial generations should help alleviate these constraints over time.

Amidst this expansion, Starlink continues to face resistance from local operators and regulators. For example, in April 2024, the government of Cameroon banned the import of Starlink kits, accusing the company of operating without a license. The NCC in Nigeria forced the company not to increase its prices without prior approval. It delayed its launch in Angola due to a delay in obtaining a license. The company has also yet to receive approval in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, South Africa, and Senegal.

As Starlink continues to expand and optimize its network, it has the potential to become an even more competitive solution for broadband access in Sub-Saharan Africa. For now, users must weigh the benefits of higher speeds at potentially higher costs against increased latency when choosing between Starlink and terrestrial broadband services.  Partnerships between LEO satellite operators like Starlink and local telecom operators could be the way forward to deliver more affordable internet services to underserved areas. For instance, satellite technology can provide direct-to-phone internet service without requiring special equipment. Satellites could also connect shared hotspots, providing much-needed connectivity to remote regions, or be used as backhaul to connect rural base stations. This is already taking shape as Airtel Africa signed an agreement with Starlink in May 2025 to integrate satellite services into its offerings in nine of the fourteen countries across its footprint, with regulatory processes underway for the other five.

We will continue to monitor the expansion of Starlink and other LEO satellite operators around the world and benchmark their network performance against terrestrial operators. If you are interested in Ookla’s solutions and services for network intelligence and management, get in touch.