Grace Ashiru
SpaceX-owned Starlink has reversed its decision to double base subscription prices in Nigeria, following a block by the country’s communications regulator three weeks prior.
The company raised the standard residential plan with a 1 TB fair usage policy to ₦75,000 ($48) from ₦38,000 ($24). Roaming customers saw the steepest hikes, with local roaming, allowing Starlink use beyond home or work in Nigeria, rising to ₦167,000 per month from ₦49,000.
International roaming costs were raised to ₦717,000 per month.
The new rates were scheduled to take effect on October 31st.
While Elon Musk posted on X that Starlink’s subscription prices are adjusted for inflation, Nigerian regulators have set pricing guidelines for ISPs and have previously blocked other providers’ requests to raise data prices.
In a statement to TechCabal, the regulator stated that Starlink did not “receive the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).”
The NCC instructed Starlink to reverse the price increase or face sanctions.
The commission added that Starlink’s action contravened “Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, and Starlink’s Licence Conditions regarding tariffs.”
