The latest survey from Ookla, for the second quarter of 2023, says that the Starlink satellite service was faster than all fixed broadband providers in Nigeria and Rwanda
BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA
- Starlink in Nigeria hits 63.69 Mbps download speed, outperforming fixed broadband’s 15.60 Mbps.
- Upload speeds are more even at 13.72 Mbps (Starlink) vs. 10.60 Mbps (fixed broadband) in Nigeria.
- Rwanda sees Starlink at 63.10 Mbps (download) vs 34.55 Mbps (fixed broadband) and 6.88 Mbps (upload) vs. 10.05 Mbps (fixed broadband) in Q2 2023.
In Nigeria, Speedtest Intelligence showed that Starlink had a faster median download speed at 63.69 Mbps compared to 15.60 for all aggregate fixed broadband providers combined.
Upload speeds were more similar during the same period, with Starlink at 13.72 Mbps and the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined at 10.60 Mbps. Starlink did have a marginally higher multi-server latency at 55.88 ms to 50.26 ms during Q2 2023.
Despite the promising signs, it’s not been easy for Nigerians to purchase the device and pay for the monthly service fee due to the expensive cost and the country’s ban on international transactions with domestic cards.
In June this year, Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communication Commission ( NCC), said the commission is having deep engagement with Starlink to reduce the cost of its service in the country.
According to him, making the service affordable will help close the country’s connectivity gap and make internet connections accessible to rural and underserved areas.
In Rwanda, median download speeds were a little closer with Starlink recording a median download speed at 63.10 Mbps in Q2 2023 compared to the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined at 34.55 Mbps.
