Starlink Extends Their Promotional Offer In Kenya Till The 10th June 2024.

So, this is interesting! Unless I’m mistaken, as shared here previously, Starlink was running a promotion in Kenya for their home / residential package at Kes. 39,500, down from Kes. 89,000, which is a substantial 55% discount for the hardware that was meant to end today being the 15th May 2024.

However, I just checked the same online and this promotion has now been extended till the 10th June 2024. Could this be due to the major Internet downtime we saw in Kenya and most parts of East Africa over the weekend and to-date due to cuts on the EASSy and SEACOM undersea cables?

My guess is that chances are that Starlink saw a major spike in demand for their satellite based Internet service as businesses and individuals explored alternative solutions as a back-up or redundant measure, or even a replacement for their current Internet service providers or ISPs going forward.

Its not unlike the trending scenario of many installing power backup solutions at home to ensure they always have electricity even when Kenya Power or any other service provider is down. Essentially, the attitude is one that instead of complaining, take control, and find a solution so that you can stay on plan at all times.

However, the monthly subscription for the Starlink home / residential package in Kenya remains unchanged at a Kes. 6,500 a month. This is not exactly inexpensive but also its fair for an Internet service that regularly and consistently runs at 100Mbps and can peak all the way to 200+Mbps, albeit with slow latencies being a factor at times.

Another thing that many have been saying online about this promotion is that its essentially a fire sale to get rid of stocks of an older version of the Starlink hardware that is no longer in production. Naturally, this should not be a major issue as the service should still work just fine but if true, then the improved capabilities of newer Starlink hardware could be missed out on going forward.

One thing is clear — we live, eat, breath, play and work on the Internet in Kenya and beyond so when getting stuff done for work, play, and anything in between done becomes a challenge, or impossible, we will definitely will explore viable alternatives to stay online, all the time.