Starlink launches in Zimbabwe

SpaceX’s fast and uncapped satellite Internet service Starlink has officially launched in Zimbabwe.

South Africa’s northern neighbour is the 14th African country to get the service, with the most recent other additions being Botswana, South Sudan, and Sierra Leone.

Zimbabwean Starlink subscribers, at least those who have not already imported a kit from countries which have supported the service for longer, will have to fork out $350 (R6,248) for the regular Starlink dish and router.

However, the more portable Mini dish with a built-in router built-in can be had for a more affordable $200 (R3,570). That is substantially cheaper than in the US, where it is priced at $599 (R10,693).

MyBroadband recently tested the more compact dish and found it boasted excellent speeds and latency, similar to the regular kit.

We recorded average download speeds over 100Mbps and uploads of around 15Mbps.

It could also be suited to users who want a more portable device, which works on the go, even while driving over 100km/h.

As in other countries, Starlink’s delivery fees are likely to vary from region to region. For delivery to Harare, Starlink is charging $23 (R410) for shipping and handling.

The regular residential subscription is priced at $50 per month, converting to roughly R893 at the time of publication. That is roughly in line with fees in other Southern African countries.

Starlink is now officially available from four of South Africa’s six neighbours — with only Lesotho and Namibia yet to launch the service.

Lesotho has an estimated rollout date in the third quarter of 2024, which means it should go live before the end of September, while Namibia’s launch could be anytime before the end of the year.

South Africa’s Starlink rollout has been in doubt since late 2022, when the company changed the estimated date for a local rollout to “unknown”.

The status has remained the same since that time, and according to the latest feedback from South Africa’s communications minister and regulator, Starlink has yet to apply to legally operate locally.

While SpaceX has yet to officially confirm the reason for the delay in South Africa, the country’s ownership rules for telecoms licensees are believed to be a major hurdle.

Starlink prefers to offer its services directly to its customers and does not resell subscriptions through third parties, like other Internet service providers, which might already have the necessary licences.

Making Starlink roaming cutoffs in South Africa less problematic

Many South African households and businesses in remote areas have been using Starlink’s roaming service, which has worked locally since 2023 despite no official support.

However, doing so has become more difficult since Starlink implemented its maximum 60-day continuous roaming use rule in August 2024.

Roaming subscribers are only allowed to use the service for two months before they have to access Starlink Internet from the country of registration from where the kit was imported.

Thereafter, they can resume using roaming for another two months before having to “phone home” again.

While that has caused a logistical headache for Starlink roaming users in South Africa, the increased official availability of Starlink along the country’s borders could make it easier to do, if users register their kits in a neighbouring country.

Unofficial Starlink importer IcasaSePush is even offering a paid service to do this on a user’s behalf.

Those who can import their kit from Zimbabwe and visit the country every two months will have to pay a $100 (R1,785) regional roaming subscription.

The table below shows the regular and regional roaming prices of Starlink subscriptions in South Africa’s neighbouring countries.