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- Starlink has launched in Eswatini.
- It is the first rand-denominated pricing for the service that has been announced.
- After a regulatory fee is applied, Starlink packages start from R1 070 in Eswatini.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
Eswatini has become the eighth African country, and the second of South Africa's neighbours, in which Starlink has launched.
Owned By Elon Musk's SpaceX, the company made the announcement in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this week.
Starlink is able to provide high speed, stable connectivity to virtually the whole globe through its fleet of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Low earth orbit connectivity is a potential game changer in rural areas, which have historically been difficult for network operators to service due to the low density of people there.
Satellite internet has been around since the 1990s, but the service hasn't been widely used because satellites have historically been in a more distant orbit from Earth, which increases latency, a measure of the speed of data transmission.
Starlink's satellite fleet orbits Earth at around 550 kilometres above sea level, which allows for fast, stable, and wide service.
Other LEO satellite providers, including Amazon's Project Kuiper and Eutelsat, are also competing in the space.
The Starlink network is able to cover almost the entire globe, but for people to legally access the service, Starlink would have had to register to operate in the countries.
Starlink has not applied for a licence to operate in South Africa, and economic empowerment ownership conditions are thought to be the biggest stumbling block.
READ MORE | 2024 could be the year for Starlink in Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Namibia - but not in SA
Now that Starlink has been registered in Eswatini, residents will be able to import Starlink kits and take out monthly subscriptions which can be used in the country.
Alternatively, roaming packages can be taken out, which allows someone to make use of their Starlink package in another country.
Pricing will pose an issue for the majority of people though as there is a hefty initial fee for a Starlink kit and a substantially above-market monthly fee for the service.
It will cost Eswatini residents R12 000 once off to import a standard Starlink kit, irrespective of the package they take out for the service. A R450 shipping and handling fee will also be applied.
The residential package, which allows for Starlink use at home, is the cheapest option, with a R950 monthly base fee and an additional R120 monthly regulatory fee which will be levied by the Eswatini Communications Commission (Esccom). The monthly total for this package will be R1 070.
Residents could also choose to take out a mobile package which will allow them to use the service across the country. With the R120 regulatory fee applied, this package comes to R1 370.
There is also a global Starlink package, where residents will pay a total of R3 920 per month to be able to access Starlink anywhere with network coverage.
Illegal usage
Earlier this year, several South African internet service providers were importing Starlink kits into South Africa and managing global roaming packages on behalf of South Africans.
By July, more than 1 000 South Africans were using Starlink in the country through this system.
READ MORE | Over a thousand South Africans already using Musk's Starlink, even though it lacks regulator's nod
But the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) published a notice last month stating that the use of Starlink in South Africa in this way is illegal.
