Starlink halted new orders in specific areas of Lagos and Abuja due to overloading of their network.
Starlink Pauses New Orders in Nigeria Due to Network Congestion and Regulatory Issues
Starlink, the satellite internet service provider founded by Elon Musk, has paused new orders for residential internet kits in several busy cities in Nigeria, including Lagos and Abuja. This move is due to network congestion and regulatory issues.
The company stated that such pauses occur when an area cannot accommodate a new customer due to its designed capacity. This is a deliberate measure to preserve service quality and ensure optimal network connectivity for existing users within the same geographical area.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) temporarily banned Starlink from onboarding new customers in Nigeria due to regulatory issues. This ban led to a temporary halt in orders, which lasted nearly eight months, from November 2024 to June 2025. Orders resumed in late June 2025, after infrastructure upgrades and regulatory clearance.
The rise in prices was attributed to the naira's persistent devaluation, higher operating costs, and compliance with the NCC regulatory framework. As a result, the monthly subscription fee for Starlink in Nigeria has increased from ₦38,000 ($25.33) to approximately ₦56,000 ($37) in 2025.
The price hikes and service disruptions have led to a significant loss of subscribers in Nigeria. In Q1 2025, Starlink recorded its first decline in Nigeria since launch, with active users falling from 65,564 in Q4 2024 to 59,509, a loss of more than 6,000 subscribers, or about 9%.
Many customers either switched to cheaper alternatives or discontinued Starlink service entirely due to the price increases and service disruptions. Several specific areas in Lagos, such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, and Surulere, are marked as "Sold Out" on Starlink's website.
In Chevyville Estate in Lekki, a subscription attempt returns the message that Starlink service is currently at capacity in the area. Prospective users in these areas can only subscribe through a waitlist after paying a deposit.
Analysts linked the drop in subscribers to steep tariff and hardware price hikes, Nigeria's broader economic strain, and service disruptions caused by the pause in new activations. The decline in subscribers is also linked to the company's efforts to ease congestion, which may require additional satellite launches or fresh approvals from regulators to expand service capacity.
Residents in these areas will be notified once additional capacity becomes available. Starlink has not announced any plans to roll back the price increases at this time.
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