Over 2,000 customers exited the service between December 2024 and March 2025.

New figures from the Communications Authority (CA) place Starlink’s total fixed internet subscribers at 17,066 by the end of Q1 2025. That’s a drop of over 11% within a single quarter, pulling the company down from the seventh to the eighth spot among internet service providers (ISPs) in Kenya. 

The timing coincides with a prolonged pause in new sign-ups and an aggressive drive by Safaricom to overtake the fixed broadband market.

The collapse in user growth traces back to Starlink’s decision to halt new connections across major urban and peri-urban counties, including Nairobi, Kiambu, and Machakos. 

The reason is overcapacity; too many users, not enough infrastructure. A Nairobi ground station was eventually switched on in January 2025 to ease the burden, but the damage was already done. Many who had spent over KES 45,000 ($348) on Starlink hardware were left waiting, months on end, for access.

Even now, with the waitlist reopened, growth hasn’t recovered. Some customers appear to have abandoned the service altogether, citing connection delays, lack of support, and the high KES 6,500 ($50) monthly fee for speeds of 180 Mbps. 

Meanwhile, Safaricom swooped in with cheaper 5G plans starting at KES 4,000 ($31) per month for 50 Mbps. More importantly, the company cut its router prices from KES 25,000 to KES 3,000, more than ten times cheaper than Starlink’s hardware.

Safaricom’s moves are working. It added nearly 57,000 fixed broadband subscribers in the first quarter of 2025 alone, increasing its market share to 36.5%. Starlink, by comparison, slipped from 1.1% to 0.9%. Even Dimension Data overtook it in the rankings.

Distribution patterns reveal another dimension of Starlink’s challenges. Supermarket chains like Carrefour have started reducing the stock of Starlink kits. Quickmart has shifted to marketing Safaricom’s 5G routers instead. 

The early excitement generated by Elon Musk’s online endorsements and local tech influencers is waning. Starlink’s dominance in satellite internet, currently holding 97% of Kenya’s satellite market, is beginning to look fragile.

And now, regulatory threats are emerging. The CA has proposed a near tenfold increase in satellite licence fees, from KES 1.6 million to KES 15 million. An additional 0.4% levy on annual gross turnover is also on the table. These changes, framed as efforts to create parity between global and local players, will hit Starlink’s margins hard.

Globally, Starlink added more than 1.5 million users in three months, reaching 5.36 million subscribers as of March 2025. Africa accounted for 336,000 of those, marking a 42% rise. But in Kenya, the direction has turned. 

Even with its wide reach into underserved regions and relatively high speeds, Starlink’s challenges might soon move beyond technical, to financial, political, and strategic. 

In just six months, Safaricom has lit up dozens of new 5G sites across the country. This isn’t the Nairobi-centric rollout we’ve seen before. No glitzy launches, no billboards. Just boots on the ground and a message: we’re here, and we’re cheaper.

They’re targeting places where fibre never reached and mobile broadband failed. And while Starlink’s satellite tech has gained a solid footing in such areas, Safaricom is showing it still has home advantage.

Let me break it down. In Western Kenya, Safaricom sales agents have been going door-to-door since January, peddling 5G routers priced at just KES 3,000 ($23). That’s a 90% price drop from last year. The routers come bundled with data plans and the occasional branded t-shirt. Not exactly a tech expo, but it works.

“I was signed up in two minutes,” Paminus Osike, a new customer in Nyanza province, told us. “Starlink’s initial cost is too high, and I like that this connection isn’t fixed, but I can move around with it.” They even offered him a power bank at KES 5,000 ($39) to keep the signal alive during blackouts.

That mobility is a big deal. Unlike fibre or fixed satellite systems, Safaricom’s router can switch to 4G when 5G isn’t available. It’s portable, prepaid, and sold in the same way people buy solar panels—affordable and incremental.

The offer is appealing. Monthly data packages start from KES 4,000 ($31) for 50 Mbps and go up to KES 10,000 ($77) for 250 Mbps. That undercuts Starlink’s standard kit which starts at KES 30,000 ($231) and doesn’t offer as much flexibility.

Meanwhile, Starlink is feeling the heat. In Nairobi, it had to halt new sign-ups due to network congestion. That’s the catch with satellite internet—bandwidth is shared, and busy areas choke performance. 

As Safaricom doubles fibre speeds and launches gigabit plans in cities, it’s cornering Starlink on both ends: price and practicality.

But this isn’t just about Kenya. Starlink’s expansion across Africa has ruffled feathers. It’s now operational in 18 countries, yet faces growing resistance. In Zimbabwe, Liquid Home has slashed prices to stay competitive.

TelOne is betting on OneWeb instead. Nigeria’s a different story—Starlink’s already the third-largest ISP there, raising alarms among local operators. The complaint is simple: Starlink skips the heavy lifting—no towers, no trenches—and still grabs market share.

Safaricom, for its part, isn’t just relying on price. It’s leveraging its massive mobile network footprint—1,114 5G sites in 102 towns, touching every county, with over 780,000 active 5G smartphones. It has teamed up with Huawei and Nokia to boost infrastructure. 

In Nairobi, Safaricom has even launched 5G experience centres where users can test out virtual reality games, smart home gadgets, and industrial tech—all powered by its network.

Still, Starlink isn’t out. The satellite ISP has thrived in areas where governments and telcos have failed. Even now, it boasts over 19,000 users in Kenya, mostly in isolated parts of Rift Valley. Its appeal? Plug, mount, and connect—no cables needed.

Safaricom once pushed for tighter controls on satellite firms like Starlink, arguing that companies with no local offices shouldn’t enjoy free reign. But with regulators unmoved, Safaricom has pivoted—competing not with policy, but with value.

For a country where rural users often live on tight budgets, the timing matters. Safaricom’s bet is clear: give people what they need, at a price they can manage, and they’ll choose you—even over a space-powered internet connection.