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Elon Musk announced in a tweet on Friday that Starlink has been approved in Nigeria and Mozambique.

Starlink is the satellite internet service launched by SpaceX, a  space exploration company owned by Musk.

The  news came  three days after Musk answered a tweet about the service launch in Africa.

“Yes, first countries in Africa to be announced coming soon,” he tweeted. 

“Starlink will serve everywhere on Earth that we’re legally allowed to serve.”

The satellite operates in more than 30 countries where it is legally approved to provide internet services.

Its launch in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, has been in the works since 2021. Last May, SpaceX sent some representatives to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecommunications regulator, to discuss the possibility of obtaining a license to operate Starlink in Nigeria.

According to reports from local press, Nairametrics, the NCC has approved this license, corroborating Musk’s tweet today. The publication also said the license Starlink Internet Services Nigeria Ltd. (its trading name) obtained is under the Internet Service Provider (ISP) category — other service providers such as telcos and private operators fall within this category, too — and will last for a decade starting from May 2022.

Starlink brings much-needed competition to Nigerian telecom operators such as MTN and Airtel, who have had to compete against each other without improving their internet quality

However, there is divided opinion over Starlink’s affordability in Nigeria. Critics say that the satellite is expensive 

It will cost   $110 (~₦60,500) for preorder and and $599 (~₦330,000) for its  monthly price. The latter however, will have a full kit, including a terminal, mounting tripod, and Wi-Fi router.

With that, Starlink’s price is expensive  for the average Nigerian and Mozambique user. Its premium service costs about $2,500 (~₦1.375 million) for the full kit and $500 (~₦275,000) monthly.