Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service in Kenya is currently offering its customers the second-slowest speeds in Africa due to a spike in demand that has strained the satellite operator’s capacity.
What is Starlink’s internet speed in Kenya?
According to Ookla, one of the top internet speed test websites, Starlink download speeds in Kenya dropped from highs of over 200 Mbps when the company first entered the market in July 2023, to an average of 47 Mbps in the quarter ending in March 2025.
Download speeds have an impact on users’ ability to complete daily tasks like loading websites, streaming music or movies, downloading files or apps, and browsing social media.
Nigeria, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar are among the other African nations where the drop in Starlink speeds has also been reported.
Kenya has experienced the steepest decline, ranking it as the second-slowest, following Madagascar.
The slowdown, according to Ookla analysts, is the result of rising demand that has exceeded Starlink’s capacity in the affected nations, rendering the high browsing speeds observed at launch unsustainable.
“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,” the report revealed.
Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, and Ghana, on the other hand, had median download speeds on the continent.
What is Starlink’s market share in Kenya?
By leveraging pricing and data speeds, Starlink’s subscriber base more than doubled from 19,146 subscribers, giving it a 1.1% market share, at the end of December 2024.
Established firms like Safaricom, Jamii Telecommunications Limited (JTL), and Zuku were concerned and demanded regulatory restrictions on Starlink.
Safaricom contended that regulation was necessary because satellite coverage might illegally deliver services within Kenya and transcend borders, resulting in “harmful interference” among other reasons.
The telecommunications company, which is partially owned by Vodafone, Vodacom, and the Kenyan government, stated that to guarantee local investment, jobs, and adherence to Kenyan regulations, satellite providers have to operate as infrastructure providers.
Why Starlink suspended new subscriptions in Nairobi
Due to network saturation that surpassed its service capacity, Starlink suspended new subscriptions in Nairobi and the nearby counties of Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu, and Murang’a in November 2024.
This followed nationwide sales and incentives, such as offering the original kit at half price, the launch of the affordable Starlink Mini, and the opportunity to lease the kit for a monthly charge rather than purchase.
Due to capacity exhaustion, it has not yet started accepting new sign-ups in the five regions.
Instead, users who are interested in joining the queue can place pre-orders, which will be activated as soon as more capacity becomes available.