The quality of the internet in Zimbabwe has just completely gone to the dogs. It’s a literal state of emergency and any option that shows the slightest promise is being treated like a messiah. Starlink is one of these services and on their coverage map, they slated Zimbabwe as one of the countries receiving the service in 2023. They recently went live in Nigeria and in Rwanda, it’s even undergoing trial in schools to see its viability. So what about Zimbabwe? How long must we endure?
On the Starlink website, they mention that the planned availability in Zimbabwe is 2023 pending regulatory approval. So naturally, we reached out to POTRAZ who informed us that Starlink has not enquired with them about setting up service in Zimbabwe.
We did also have some follow-up questions that are yet to be answered which include the following:
- If Starkink or any service like it is to wish to come into Zimbabwe, what does POTRAZ expect it to do/have in order for it to be allowed to operate?
- Will the international pricing Starlink is offering globally be the same in Zimbabwe?
- What is POTRAZ’s take on Starlink and other satellite internet providers like it regarding the future of internet reliability, accessibility, and affordability in Zimbabwe?
We are still waiting for an official response from our regulator but in the meantime, we can partially answer these questions.
Question 1. What Starlink needs to do to operate in Zimbabwe
Any new telecommunications player in Zimbabwe has to go through POTRAZ so they are registered and licensed. But the most important reason is that POTRAZ regulates the airwaves in Zimbabwe and will need to ensure that whatever frequency spectrum Starlink uses for communication is actually available.
Starlink uses the 10.7GHz to 12.7GHz band for its communication which according to the Zimbabwe National Frequency Allocation Plan falls neatly under the spectrum allocated for fixed satellite services. So the technical side of regulation seems to check out if Starlink is to be classified under the category of fixed satellite services.
The only thing left will be an operating license which for VSAT services will look like this:
The VSAT landing rights (payable in US dollars only)[Out of date]
Extract from SI 11A of 2001
8. An annual fee payable in advance, in full US$36 000,00
9. (a) Transportable satellite [transceiver and or satellite phones] (prorated, for each calendar month or part thereof) US$7 500,00
(b) VSAT with local private hub US$10 000
[Updated: SI 12 of 2021]
3. The VSAT/Mobile Satellite Service Terminal (MSS) landing rights fees (Payable in US dollars)
Extract from SI 12 of 2021
Satellite Service Fees payable
(a) VSAT with foreign hub (Virtual VSAT Network) C and Ku Bands— An annual fee payable in advance, per each VSAT terminal in full US$30,00
(b) VSAT with foreign hub (Virtual VSAT Network) Ka Band— An annual fee payable in advance, per each VSAT terminal in full US$20,00
(c) MSS Terminal— An annual fee payable in advance, per each transportable satellite or portable satellite phones (pro-rated for each calendar month or part thereof US$200,00
(d) BGAN Terminal— An annual fee payable in advance, per each transportable terminal (pro-rated for each calendar month or part thereof) US$200,00
Question 2: Will international pricing apply in Zimbabwe?
Starlink in Nigeria has assumed its fees in its local currency. But interestingly enough there are some currency conversion issues in Nigeria that seem very similar to those in Zimbabwe. There is an internationally recognized exchange rate of US$1 to 460 Naira. However, just like Zimbabwe, they have local currency cards that do not do online payments and USD prepaid cards that do make online payments. And when you use these, the rate almost doubles to 740 Naira for every US dollar.
So if Starlink maintains offering their service in US$ then the listed price for their service will be roughly what we can expect to fork out. But if they start listing the price in local currency then it can swing either way. And usually, the way where we end up paying more is where things swing.
The official pricing for Nigeria is US$599 for the kit and a US$43 monthly subscription fee. This is not universal though. A Zimbabwean source informed us that the total cost to get the kit to their doorstep set them back around US$700 and in America, monthly subs are US$110. So depending on your region, the pricing might be slightly different.
Question 3: Will this change the broadband situation in Zimbabwe?
The internet situation in Zimbabwe is dreadful at best. The number of fault-based and performance-based internet outages Zimbabwe has experienced in the past 3 years alone has been frustrating.
We talk about new players changing the space and making our internet more reliable, faster, and cheaper. But we also need to look at the infrastructure. If a new MNO or ISP enters the space, they are using the same infrastructure as already existing players. So fundamentally they will experience the same challenges that existing players are facing and their service will just be as bad.
Reliability
Starlink is very different from our current internet providers at an infrastructure level. They have orbiting satellites that are of a different technology to those used by VSAT providers. VSAT makes use of GEO satellites (Geostationary satellites) meaning these satellites are matching the rotation of the earth such that if we could see it, it would be as if it’s standing still. And they also are 35,785 km above the earth’s surface. And the rest of the internet providers rely on a network comprising of terrestrial fiber and point-to-point microwave radio links.
Starlink is using a network of LEO (Low Earth Orbiting) satellites and these are constantly moving 550km above the earth’s surface. So similar but not the same in terms of technology. However, Starlink is, for the most part not relying on infrastructure that can be affected by power outages, fuel shortages, vandalism, or a farmer plowing a bit too deep. You know. Everyday Zimbabwean stuff.
On the infrastructure end, Starlink should be more reliable than our current fixed internet providers simply looking at its infrastructure being immune to a majority of the issues associated with terrestrial fiber and microwave radio links. Which leaves VSAT. VSAT has 2 fundamental issues associated with its altitude. The first is latency or the time it takes for information to travel from source to destination. Starlink actually states that its latency is 70 times less than that of Geostationary satellites (VSAT). Also, VSAT is more susceptible to weather than Starlink. So it’s reliable.
Accessibility
Accessibility will also be a lot better. A number of new suburbs are not yet serviced with fixed internet. And so you have to go on a waitlist and pray that the service providers deem you worthy. An example is Haydon park, a suburb right next to the New Parliament building which at the moment only has a choice of Telco fiber and Liquid Home WibroniX. Starlink will work anywhere. All you need is a clear view of the sky and money for the kit and subscriptions. So again, accessibility, check.
Affordability
The price of entry is definitely steep. Officially is US$599 for just the kit. Then subs can be anything from US$43 in Nigeria to US$110 in the USA for the residential package.
Starlink is unlimited but with a fair usage policy. You have an allocation of 1TB a month and if you exceed this, you’ll start experiencing slow speeds. If you use Liquid Home you are familiar with this. What makes it all worth it is that the max speeds available are 250Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. In Nigeria, one Starlink user got 238Mbps download and 45Mbps upload.
So here is how it stacks up with the competition. Liquid Home’s 100Mbps unlimited fiber package is going for US$385 (Using today’s official exchange rate). Telone’s 50Mbps unlimited package is going for US$306. Utande charges US$230 for 30Mbps uncapped. If you ignore the eye-watering price of the kit, Starlink is MUCH cheaper than the best of the best we can get locally whilst also promising speeds beyond those we are accustomed to in these parts.
Once you get past the cost of acquiring it, it’s actually solid value. Also, remember that VSAT setup costs in Zimbabwe range from US$100 to US$1,440. Affordability? Best bang for the buck for anyone who was already paying US$100 in internet per month or who relies on unlimited internet, Starlink will be a no-brainer.
So can I use Starlink in Zimbabwe?
Officially Starlink is not yet available in Zimbabwe but is said to be coming in 2023. So officially if you are able to buy the kit, it will not work in Zimbabwe. That said we have unconfirmed reports of some Starlink users in Zimbabwe who have successfully been able to use the service.
Starlink seems to have the world divided into continental regions. So if the service is available in any country on a continent then it should be available in all other countries within that continent. At the moment Nigeria and Rwanda are 2 African countries that have Starlink available to them. And according to the Starlink website, coverage and regulatory approval are what are stopping it from officially making a presence in Zimbabwe. So technically it should work here.
Starlink also announced global roaming. To be able to use this feature you actually need to buy new equipment from Starlink specifically supporting global roaming. And that feature will also cost you US$200 per month to use. Such a service could provide Zimbabweans with unofficial access to Starlink in Zimbabwe but that is not guaranteed.
A more sensible hack is buying a Starlink kit destined for Nigeria or Rwanda, initially setting it up with a Nigerian or Rwandan address physically, then paying an additional US$25 per month for mobility allowing you to use the service anywhere in Africa. (Mobility only works on the same continent of the address used to order it and set it up) Yes, there will be a slight logistical hurdle of physically setting it up in a country where the service is available first before bringing it here but if you can then that is another possible way of using Starlink in Zimbabwe. But I will stress it’s not a guaranteed method.
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Starlink has one almost unavoidable reliability issue that may or may not impact quality of service depending on where you are and what you do, and that’s the satellite handoff. It creates a short period of dropped connectivity, but the more dense the constellation is over your area, the shorter the handoff. One Nigerian review I saw mentioned that handoff takes just under a minute at most. That may suck for applications depending on a constant connection, but to me, the speed and overall reliability is still worth it, not to mention the constellation is still growing and the gap will continue to shrink till its a nonfactor.
For those planning on the mobility hack, your connection will be at a lower priority in heavily subscribed areas. Not a biggy in Zim, at least for a while, but you can always change service address once Starlink is official.
The FUP is the most generous I have ever seen, probably because my exposure is so low😅 1TB is quite a challenge to hit in a normal zim household, but I guess if you run constant 8K streams, download your games afresh every time you play, run an industrial torrent seed farm, run a school labs worth of Folding simulations for the good of humanity and maybe a couple of Minecraft servers, you could probably do it! But funnies aside, I hope all this will shake up the ISP landscape. We a transformation in that space.
The handoff is most certainly something I was not aware of. And I think in these parts where the only supported countries in our hemisphere are 2 islands in the Indian ocean, Australia and South America. Probably not that many satellites in these parts
Like always, we will wait for Mozambique to start selling then we buy and register from that side. We then use the unofficial exit point used by H.E. when he was running away from the Great Uncle and voila we have satellite internet.
Utande has no unlimited vsat package.
I used the $155 one and it is capped at 200GB, they only tell you after you have payed. I had to drop it though for the lte (which i think is their best product) because tech support is in dubai so errors take like 3 weeks to resolve
Could you kindly tell me how reliable is Utande LTE
At least Starlink will take some customers and reduce pressure on the meagre bandwidth we are all currently crowding on. It should snatch a lot of high end, high quality customers. By some miracle the existing players may start to consider the foreign concept of improving their customer service
There is no bandwidth pressure, what we have is an internet Mafia that is causing artificial shortages. The current max internet capacity on the existing undersea cable is 5% on a good day. This is before Equiano, Peace cable, and the 2Africa cable. When this all goes live, the capacity on the undersea cable will be less than 0.05% at best. The bottleneck is on our IAPs, most likely they are focusing more on short-term economics. Starlink will create the much-needed competition
Meagre hahahaha its so painful though.
After elections is when we will have a clearer picture. Cos even I can see that allowing starlink into the country right now would be a dumb idea.
I mean how would the government test whether or not Internet for the whole country would shut down if they flipped a switch or used an axe on a fibre optic cable? 😉
Starling will create positive market force in favor of the customer which will make the current players also revise their service to the consumer
The regulatory aspects of your article are poorly researched. Please refer to S. I 12 of 2021 for the current licencing framework for telecom operators
Some of us cannot access this S.I. 12 of 2021. What does it say, or, what should the author have written?
You can access it on the veritaszim website, not sure about url policies here but search for
SI 2021-012 Postal and Telecommunications (Licensing, Registration and Certification) Regulations, 2021
I wanted to say the same
Seems like that section may be out of date. Thats why the community is our super power. Dankie anonymous
Yes I have the terminal which I imported from its registered address in the UK. Last year June, there was no connection at all despite all the time I spend trying to connect. However, as of January 2023, I could see the signal locking and a connection established but could not browse, meaning it’s not yet working using the UK registered terminal. I am told I cannot transfer the German l across continent hence maybe why it’s not working properly. I will try to deregulated it and ask the starlink tech support to register it in Zimbabwe. Having said that we wait for the announcement to allow us to use it legally in Zimbabwe
After conducting thorough research and reading the aforementioned article, it is clear that Starlink’s satellite internet service will soon be available in Zimbabwe, regardless of regulatory approval. It’s like a game of chess, where Starlink has already made its move, and now the regulator, POTRAZ, must respond. Waiting for SpaceX/Starlink to initiate the registration process would be unwise for POTRAZ, and it is in the regulator’s best interest to reach out immediately and start the registration process.
However, it is essential to ask, what are the local players doing about this? Attempting to collude with the regulator to prevent Starlink from obtaining an operating license will not work in their favor. Refusing approval will not stop Starlink’s growth, and those who can afford it will buy the kits and subscribe. POTRAZ must consider the benefits of licensing fees and other fees by approving Starlink. It would be best for the regulator to have an open mind and view this as a significant opportunity. They can start working on a new bill that will ensure they reap the benefits, just as they currently do with existing market players.
If POTRAZ snubs Starlink, and people buy the Starlink kits and subscribe, the regulator will have little power. They cannot block the signal, and asking local Starlink users to take down their dishes will not be effective long-term.
The ball is in POTRAZ’s court, and it remains to be seen how they will handle the situation. Regardless, Starlink’s entry into Zimbabwe is imminent, and stakeholders must come to terms with this new reality.
Starlink’s constellation is not fixed: it’s Low Earth Orbit as you specified later in the article. As for those who plan to buy units from other jurisdictions: SpaceX knows the location of your terminal when it is in use, and is on record disabling internet access from units that are more than tens of kilometers away from the registered address. You will have to pay $200/mo for the roaming option if you want to use smuggled units, but I don’t forsee Starlink ignoring governments and providing internet access where it is not licenced.
Ther is what is called roaming papa and we connecting clients daily zve potraz ndezvavo
Tell me more about it I am interested
Really excellent technical analysis vis a vis the pros and cons of starlink vs the terrestrial providers. Well written and easy to understand as a layman
I’ll admit that I haven’t been on this site in a long time, but this is an important topic that has helped bring more attention to these problems.
Wow! This is a great article. I want to find something like that. I would like to suggest that you keep giving out information like this.
One word that makes me hopeful even if portraz doesn’t come through
OVI
We as Zimbabwe Traders Association of Zimbabwe (ZTAZ), we really need starlink, we missing trades because of poor network especially during powercuts. We can’t endure losses from external source. Please Musk come with your Company we can’t wait.
Has anyone in Zim tried to purchase the equipment and try to install regardless of Starlink not legally allowed to operate in the country ?.Any luck with connection? . I am not tech savvy and may be wrong on this one, but regulation has no effect on the actual connectivity once one has the equipment. I have this assumption in the back of mind that there may be folks already operating Starlink clandestinely right now in Zim. Again, not an expert in tech area. Anyone with any insights please share.
I think it makes a lot of sense for local MNOs to put up starlink satellites on each mobile network booster. So we can all just get on the Internet.
South Africa getting Starlink approved will be our best bet as Zimbos. Only then will we have wholesale access to the kits and having them set up physically for us in SA. With how our gvt wants control, I do not see how they will give access to Zimbabweans particularly in 2023 given the elections. Most Zimbabweans will opt for Starlink, because our ISP have been treating us like s*** for so long. They need humbling after taking advantage of us for so long. Our data prices are just plain unreasonable.