That means Starlink is now available in a total of 73 countries. Just a little less than 2 weeks ago, it was introduced in Argentina.

Starlink was very active through 2023, launching in 25 countries, including Eswatini, the Maldives, Benin, Georgia, and many more.

2024 has been a little quieter thus far as Starlink has only been introduced in one market, namely Mongolia and Argentina.

That said, this is somewhat of a natural progression since there are simply less countries where Starlink isn’t available.

Moreover, some markets, such as India or many countries across Africa, remain somewhat hostile towards Starlink (or at least hesitant to issue the required licenses).

Coming back to Albania: the Residential plan, Starlink’s most popular option, is priced at ALL 6,500 per month (~ USD 70).

The hardware will cost another ALL 44,900 (~ USD 500), plus ARS 31,000 for shipment and handling.

Feel free to check out all the different prices that Starlink charges by visiting our global price list.

Starlink should be particularly useful in many of the small rural villages that attract tourists and are traditionally plagued by poor infrastructure.

On the other side, the price tag, especially for the hardware, will likely hinder adoption in a country where the average worker makes less than USD 1,000 per month.

Starlink’s Twitter/X account has just unveiled that the service was launched in Argentina, the 72nd overall market.

Argentina is also the 7th South American country where Starlink is available. Just 4 months ago, Starlink was unveiled in the neighboring country of Paraguay.

Starlink was very active through 2023, launching in 25 countries, including Eswatini, the Maldives, Benin, Georgia, and many more.

2024 has been a little quieter thus far as Starlink has only been introduced in one market, namely Mongolia.

That said, this is somewhat of a natural progression since there are simply less countries where Starlink isn’t available.

Moreover, some markets, such as India or many countries across Africa, remain somewhat hostile towards Starlink (or at least hesitant to issue the required licenses).

Coming back to Argentina: the Residential plan, Starlink’s most popular option, is priced at ARS 62,500 per month.

Applying the commonly used blue dollar rate would mean that Residential would cost around USD 62 per month.

One thing that’ll be interesting to observe is Starlink pricing strategy in the country given the high three-digit inflation Argentina has been suffering from in recent years.

The hardware will cost another ARS 499,999 (~ USD 500), plus ARS 31,000 for shipment and handling.

Interestingly, unlike in Paraguay and other Latin American countries, Starlink won’t offer a discount on the hardware for the first few weeks of availability.

Feel free to check out all the different prices that Starlink charges by visiting our global price list.

Starlink should be particularly useful in many of the small rural villages that attract tourists and are traditionally plagued by poor infrastructure.

On the other side, the price tag, especially for the hardware, will likely hinder adoption in a country where the average worker makes less than USD 1,000 per month.

The service plan, called Deprioritized, only costs EUR29 (~ USD 31.80) per month and is currently available in Italy as well as Spain.

A little over two weeks ago, Starlink first unveiled the Deprioritized option in New Zealand, which tends to serve as a testbed for new tech consumer products and pricing plans.

While no official confirmation has been given about other European countries, it is to be expected that the Deprioritized plan will roll out across most of Europe.

After all, demand for Starlink’s services in Europe simply isn’t as high as in the United States or Australia, largely due to the wide availability of fiber across many countries.

Starlink has tried to incentivize consumers to make the switch by repeatedly discounting prices (see here and here) and introducing additional contractional options such as rentals.

Those located in the US and other markets where Starlink tends to run at capacity in certain locations shouldn’t hold out for a cheaper plan becoming available, though.

Coming back to the Deprioritized plan, subscribers can expect the same prioritization as those who opted into Roam.

This means that folks subscribed to Standard (also called Residential) will experience greater speeds.

Starlink claims on its order page that Deprioritized customers can expect download speeds of 50-100 Mbps (as compared to 130-255 Mbps for the Standard service plan).

That said, since adoption in Europe continues to be low, it could be possible that download speeds exceed 100 Mbps, especially if one lives in an area where not a lot of other terminals are accessing the internet at the same time.

Whether the new Deprioritized plan ultimately makes a dent in Europe remains to be seen, especially considering the relatively high upfront cost for the hardware.

This approval marks a significant enhancement to the satellite internet service’s data capacity, promising to revolutionize global internet accessibility.

SpaceX plans to leverage the “E-band” spectrum — which encompasses frequencies in the 71.0-76.0 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 81.0-86.0 GHz (Earth-to-space) ranges — to significantly bolster communications between its Starlink satellites and the company’s ground stations on Earth.

The approval by the FCC is only applicable to its Gen2 satellites, which were first cleared for deployment by the regulator back in December 2022.

This move is expected to quadruple the data throughput per satellite compared to the current generation, offering faster and more reliable internet connections worldwide.

The decision arrives after the FCC’s comprehensive review of SpaceX’s proposal, alongside public comments and technical assessments.

By granting access to these higher frequency bands, the FCC aims to support SpaceX in meeting the escalating demand for high-speed, low-latency internet, especially in underserved and remote areas across the globe.

SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink network is designed to support up to 32 satellites communicating simultaneously with a single ground station, potentially allowing for 64 co-frequency beams to be transmitted to the same location at any given time.

This technical capability is crucial for managing the increased data volume that the E-band spectrum usage will facilitate.

However, the FCC’s approval comes with stringent conditions. SpaceX is required to carefully coordinate its use of the E-band spectrum to prevent interference with other satellite operators who may also seek to utilize these frequencies.

The FCC emphasized the importance of ensuring that all services can coexist without disruption. Moreover, it also urged SpaceX to continue working with the scientific community to mitigate any issues astronomers may face.

The E-band spectrum will primarily be used for backhaul communications between the orbiting Starlink satellites and SpaceX’s “gateway” ground stations, which link the satellites to the terrestrial internet infrastructure.

SpaceX teased the Gen2’s E-band backhaul capability and the resulting increase in capacity all the way back in February 2023 (see tweet above).

By leveraging the E-band for backhaul links, SpaceX can effectively multiply the overall throughput of the Starlink system, making it possible to serve a greater number of users simultaneously while maintaining high service quality.

Prior to receiving full approval, SpaceX was granted temporary authority to test the E-band spectrum capabilities.

The successful completion of these tests, which reported no interference issues with other spectrum users, played a significant role in the FCC’s decision to grant full operational clearance.

The FCC’s authorization of SpaceX to use the E-band spectrum for its second-generation Starlink satellites represents a major step forward in the company’s mission to deliver superior satellite internet service.

By harnessing the power of the E-band, SpaceX is set to further solidify its position as a leader in the satellite internet industry and making strides toward universal internet coverage – and ultimately colonizing Mars.

This represents an increase of 80,000 customers from May 2023 when SpaceX was believed to have around 120,000 customers in the country.

At a minimum monthly fee of AUD139, this means that Starlink is raking in around AUD27.8 million every month or AUD333.6 million a year.

Plus, most of those newly minted customers likely came over from government-backed NBN, with its Sky Muster plan bleeding subscribers ever since Starlink was introduced.

As a result, Australia remains one of Starlink’s most important markets, largely due to the comparatively higher prices it charges in the country.

Starlink’s dominance is further strengthened through partnerships with the likes of Telstra and introduction of new options such as rentals.

And due to Australia’s sheer size, it’s not to be expected that fiber will be a viable option for those residing in rural areas anytime soon.

Alongside the 200K customer announcement, Starlink also disclosed the introduction of its newest antenna and router.

The Gen3/REV4 antenna and router were launched in the US back in November 2023, with Australia now being the second market.

Just navigate to Starlink’s Australia website and enter your address, which will redirect you to the following order page:

Interestingly, the previous antenna, now called Standard Actuated, is not available for purchase anymore.

While the newest antenna and router do provide stronger download speeds and signal range, they also consume more power, which is a particularly sensitive topic for travelers / Roam subscribers.

In New Zealand, where Starlink is currently testing a deprioritized plan, the new antenna is yet to be introduced.

The same goes for the rest of the world. However, in Europe, Starlink is also heavily discounting the Standard Actuated set, so it appears that existing stock is being cleared to make room for the new antenna.

The launch in the East Asian country marks the 71st market that Starlink is available in, following previous introductions in Paraguay, Eswatini, the Maldives, Benin, Georgia, and more.

In the previous year, Starlink was introduced in 25 countries. While 2024 will likely be less eventful, heavy hitters like Argentina and India are still on the docker.

2023 also underlined Starlink’s staying power, even in light of new market entrants such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper.

As of today, Starlink has a 2.3 million-strong membership base (not to be confused with annual subscribers).

Mongolia is certainly an interesting case due to its geographical proximity to China and rich natural resources.

Back in July 2023, Mongolia granted Starlink an operating license, which prompted Chinese military officials to voice their concerns over potential security breaches.

The two parties first initiated talks in February 2023 during the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, China continues to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into its native space industry, including the creation of its own LEO-based constellation.

Coming back to Mongolia, Starlink priced its Residential tier at MNT185,000 (or USD53) per month.

Furthermore, hardware (Standard Actuated) costs MNT1.525 million, plus MNT150,000 for shipping.

Feel free to check out all the different prices that Starlink charges by visiting our global price list.

One particularly interesting use case for Starlink in Mongolia will be supporting mining operations.

Being licensed in Mongolia will allow those mining companies to forgo paying penalties – like the Chinese being penalized USD700 for illegally using Starlink in Zimbabwe.

Apart from mining operations, Starlink will also aid the country with its E-Mongolia program, which aims to propel the country’s tech workers and allow them to participate in the global economy.

Mongolia has experienced a swift expansion of internet connectivity, leading to a significant increase in its digital community.

Data from the World Bank shows that in 2021, 84% of Mongolians were connected to the internet, a dramatic rise from the 12% recorded in 2011.

The bulk of this expansion occurred over the last five years; as recently as 2018, less than half of the Mongolian population had internet access.

This discount was discovered by a Reddit user and is available under the name “Deprioritized plan” for home users.

When signing up on Starlink.com, New Zealand customers can choose between the regular plan at NZ$159 (about US$98) or opt for the reduced-rate Deprioritized plan at NZ$79 (~ US$48).

This budget-friendly plan does not impose any limitations on data or speed. However, those excessively using data may find themselves being throttled after a while.

Starlink notes that customers on this plan should anticipate download speeds ranging from 50-100Mbps, in contrast to the 150-250Mbps offered by the Standard plan.

During times of high network traffic, priority will be given to the standard service, leading to potentially slower speeds for those on the Deprioritized plan.

The Deprioritized option seems to therefore be enjoying the same prioritization as the Roam package, which can hover anywhere from 10 Mbps to 150 Mbps, depending on network congestion.

Whether or not the Deprioritized plan will eventually arrive in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other countries is unknown at this time.

Traditionally, American tech companies use New Zealand as a test ground for validating products and services due to its identical consumption habits and purchasing power.

SpaceX’s introduction of this plan in New Zealand may be attributed to the country’s ample network capacity, as indicated on Starlink.com, where average download speeds are reported to be between 158Mbps and 266Mbps.

This is notably faster than many areas in the U.S., where speeds often fall between 38Mbps and 104Mbps.

On the other end, Starlink has been hesitant to lower prices for Starlink in the U.S., though it did reduce subscription costs last year for customers in regions with extra capacity.

Performance remains an issue in selected U.S. regions, such as many southern states, as underlined by various studies.

Outside the U.S., SpaceX frequently offers promotions, mainly across Europe, likely due to lower demand as well as the anticipated rollout of the newest antenna and router in other markets.

For example, in Germany, where I am based, Starlink hardware is currently being discounted by 50%.

And in many countries across the continent, the monthly price of the Residential package has been reduced multiple times and now hovers around US$60 (or even less).

In other news, SpaceX has recently been able to fly 24 Gen2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket for the first time.

SpaceX CEO Musk added some more information via X, stating that “due to continued design improvements, this Falcon 9 carried its highest ever payload of 17.5 tons of useful load to a useful orbit.”

The goal is to significantly improve service speed and reduce latency for its users. The aerospace company proposes to place these satellites at altitudes between 340 and 360 kilometers, a reduction from the current 525 to 550 kilometers for its Gen1 und Gen2 counterparts.

This move is part of SpaceX’s strategy to enhance the quality of its satellite internet service for a broad user base, including consumers, enterprises, and first responders.

Operating at these reduced altitudes, the company expects to provide higher-quality, lower-latency connections, crucial for applications requiring real-time data transmission such as remote work, distance education, telehealth, and emergency services.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously tweeted that the company’s goal is to get Starlink latency down to 20ms.

Additionally, operating satellites at lower altitudes eases the deorbiting process due to increased atmospheric drag.

In its FCC filing, SpaceX highlighted the successful performance of its second-generation satellites, particularly their efficiency during launch and early orbit phases where atmospheric drag is most intense.

The company asserted that lower orbits will not only improve service quality but also reduce the likelihood of space collisions and facilitate easier and safer deorbiting of satellites.

The December 2022 approval by the FCC for 7,500 second-generation satellites to operate at higher altitudes included a provision for some satellites to operate within the 340-360 km range.

Moreover, back in 2018, the company had secured FCC approval to deploy 7,518 satellites at altitudes similar to their current proposal.

The 2018 approval was specifically tied to the use of the V-Band, a segment of the spectrum SpaceX had initially planned to utilize exclusively for those satellites.

However, despite the green light from the FCC, SpaceX did not proceed with the deployment under that particular license, leading to a pivot in their approach.

Unlike the previous license, which was confined to the V-Band, SpaceX’s current revision request does not limit the operation of satellites to specific frequency bands.

Last year’s noise wasn’t for nought; we were heard, even if it wasn’t publicly acknowledged. The improvements for early adopters across Africa, including myself, have been remarkable.

Starlink is a serious investment for anyone based in Africa, so I wanted to detail what performance you can expect and whether it lives up to the hype.

Let’s dive into the details.

My (Original) Setup

The original setup I had were the default gadgets the came with the Starlink Package. I mounted the dish on the rool, and was directly serving from the Starlink router.

The Starlink app showed slight obstruction to the right but it wasn’t much serious.

The antenna (I use the Gen2/REV3 terminal) was then mounted onto my metal roof:

I made a couple of changes to the initial setup, which cumulatively increased the overall performance of the network.

The first thing I did was to get an ethernet adapter and a more powerful router, Huawei AR169FVW in my case.

I have been told that any router with more than 1 CPU addresses major shortcomings with the original Starlink router.

Keep in mind that you need to bypass the associated Starlink router to be able to use third-party routers, which is detailed here.

I also relocated the dish to a taller building near my place and used a LiteBeam access point to connect to my home.

It added a couple of milliseconds to the latency but the tradeoffs were worth it.

The introduction of a more capable router further enhanced my experience, underscoring the importance of a robust home network setup.

That said, most users don’t need to go the extra mile of setting all of these up. The standard Starlink equipment will likely get you 90% of the performance I will show below.

Gathering Data

I began collecting data last December 2023, but the most reliable findings are from January 2024. 

Through custom scripts for ping, weather, and speed tests, I amassed over 416,000 tests, providing a comprehensive look at Starlink’s performance under various conditions.

Though I’m no analyst or network engineer, the data speaks volumes, and I’ve shared it all for independent analysis (just follow the links above).

Separately, the scripts for data collection can be found on my Github repo.

Performance Insights

Here are some of the key data points for anyone interested in using Starlink in Kenya and Africa at large:

• Uptime: From the myriad of pings, only 1% failed, translating to a 99% uptime over two weeks—a significant improvement from the 90% in early December.
• Download Speed: I encountered speeds above 250Mbps on several occasions and dipped below 1Mbps a few times. The median speed settled around 48Mbps, which is decent.
• Upload Speed: Surprisingly, upload speeds varied widely, sometimes surpassing the advertised 5-25Mbps range, reaching up to 27Mbps at best.

Just for reference: Ookla states that median broadband download speeds in Kenya are hovering around the 10Mbps mark, so this is a serious improvement.

You should therefore be able to engage in almost regular online activity, from streaming movies to conducting video calls. 

Latency remains the only issue with Starlink, thus potentially hampering online gaming activities. 

However, that’s also a given in the US and other markets, albeit less striking due to ground station availability and proximity. 

Weather’s Impact

Weather plays a notable role in service performance – as detailed here, for example. 

Midday heat correlates with lower speeds and higher latency, suggesting that critical online activities should be scheduled for cooler parts of the day.

Server Selection

Speed test results varied significantly with different servers.

Local servers like Telkom Kenya offered the best speeds, hinting at the impact of submarine cable shares on performance.

That said, even the worst performing servers still offering decent performance for all possible internet activities.

Is Starlink Worth It? Here’s My Personal Take For Anyone In Kenya 

Yes, with some caveats. Gamers might find the latency a hindrance, but for most users, especially those in rural areas like myself, Starlink offers a valuable service. 

It’s about weighing your needs against the service’s current capabilities and potential for improvement.

By January 2024, Starlink had proven its reliability for video calls, a task it previously struggled with. 

This was a turning point, showing that despite some latency, the service could handle essential communications effectively.

Switching to Starlink significantly reduced my internet costs. A generous offer from a supporter covered my subscription, highlighting the community’s belief in the service’s potential. 

For a similar setup to mine, you might need to invest around 230k Kenyan Shillings, but the benefits could outweigh the costs, depending on your situation.

Starlink has transformed my internet experience in Kenya, providing reliable service despite the initial investment. 

While it might not yet be perfect for everyone, its progress and impact are undeniable. 

For those in similar situations to mine, it’s a game-changer, offering connectivity where traditional services fall short.

Overall, the company’s approach is multifaceted, focusing on proactive deorbiting, design for demise, and transparency in operations.

Starlink satellites, which orbit at altitudes below 600 km, are designed to naturally deorbit within five years if they fail, thanks to atmospheric drag. This low Earth orbit selection significantly minimizes the risk of long-term space debris.

SpaceX enhances this natural decay process by proactively deorbiting satellites that show an elevated risk of becoming non-maneuverable, thereby reducing the number of potentially hazardous objects in space.

To date, SpaceX has initiated controlled deorbits for 406 satellites, which tracks with the estimates provided by Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

This process involves safely lowering satellites that are at the end of their operational life or identified as having issues that could lead to failure.

The controlled descent of these satellites is meticulously managed to ensure they pose no risk to other space assets or to people on the ground, as they fully burn up upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Back in early 2023, SpaceX was experiencing unknown issues with its newest Gen2 Mini satellites, forcing the company to deorbit a significant amount of those satellites.

The design of Starlink satellites prioritizes full demisability, ensuring that there is no risk to the public or the environment during deorbiting.

This commitment to safety and sustainability is part of a broader SpaceX strategy that includes sharing detailed orbital and decay information with other space operators, enhancing global space situational awareness.

Related: is Starlink dangerous to humans?

SpaceX’s transparent approach extends to its operations, with the company sharing high-fidelity position and uncertainty prediction information multiple times a day.

This not only aids in collision avoidance but also encourages other satellite operators to adopt similar practices, fostering a collaborative approach to space sustainability.

While proactive deorbiting means that SpaceX occasionally has to retire satellites that are still functional, the company views this as a necessary investment in the future of safe and sustainable space exploration.

More precisely, SpaceX shared that it aims to deorbit around 100 Gen1 satellites in the next coming weeks and months.

These satellites are currently operational and effectively serving users, yet the Starlink team has pinpointed a recurring issue within this subset of satellites that could elevate the risk of future failures.

But thanks to Starlink’s vertical integration with SpaceX, those satellites will be replenished fast. SpaceX is currently able to launch approximately 55 satellites per week or 200 per month.

Plus, these are the more potent Gen2 Mini satellites, so users shouldn’t expect any form of service degradation.