Billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink Company is planning to expand its local operations in a move that would boost President William Ruto's Digital Super Highway masterplan, a key campaign promise that his administration is banking on to transform the country's economy and create jobs.
On Tuesday, August 15, the Head of State held a meeting with Karibu Connect, a partner company authorised by Starlink to resell its products and services in Kenya.
In a meeting held at Eldoret State Lodge in Uasin Gishu County, Ruto reiterated his plan to expand his digital master plan across the country to spur economic growth.
He further invited partners and investors to further expand high-speed internet access nationwide.
"In addition to fibre connectivity, new emerging connectivity solutions such as satellite will be considered," Ruto stated. Satellite is Musk's forte.
The President removed the 30 per cent local shareholding restriction to boost investments, which will see more technology companies invest in Kenya.
In mid-July this year, Starlink's internet finally arrived in Kenya, providing affordable internet connectivity throughout the country.
The dollar billionaire emphasised that Starlink internet would be accessible throughout the country, including remote areas.
Plans on the network are divided into residential, business, roaming, maritime and aviation. The residential package accords users a monthly subscription of Ksh6,500 and a shipping fee of Ksh3,100.
The business package offers 1 Terabyte (TB) of priority data, followed by unlimited standard data, at a cost of Ksh13,572. The second tier is valued at Ksh27,144.
Under the roaming package, Starlink is offering three services; mobile (regional), mobile (global) and mobile priority (50-GB).
Users can opt for the regional package at a monthly cost of Ksh7,900 or the international package at Ksh32,800 per month.
Kenya achieved a significant milestone in late April this year by joining the elite club of nations with a satellite presence, thanks to a collaborative effort with SpaceX, the renowned aerospace company owned by Musk.
Through Kenya Space Agency (KSA), the country launched its first satellite, Taifa 1, into space.
