Elon Musk's Starlink Plans to Debut in Nigeria, to Compete with MTN, Airtel, Glo
- The Nigerian Communications Commission met with Elon Musk's company, Starlink, as it plans to establish in Nigeria
- Starlink is a company under SpaceX, a space transportations services company, and it's offering broadband
- The company will be competing with network providers like MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and 9mobile
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The founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, is set to establish his company, Starlink, in Nigeria; a move that will pit it against network providers like MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile.
Starlink is under SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer, which is also owned by Musk. The billionaire wants to bring satellite-led broadband into Nigeria, and his SpaceX team has met with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The meeting involved Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, who was represented by Ubale Maska, the executive commissioner of NCC.
Both parties met to discuss the plan Starlink has for the market in Africa's largest economy, and the company is pursuing the necessary licenses to set up its base in Nigeria.
In a statement released by NCC, it was stated that:
"SpaceX is in the process of launching a low-earth orbiting (LOE) constellation of satellites to provide low latency, high bandwidths Internet to all corners of the globe and has identified Nigeria as a critical market.
"SpaceX has been in discussion with NCC virtually over the past several months to begin the process of pursuing all necessary licenses to bring Starlink, its satellite-based broadband services to Nigeria."
Source: UGC
Presently, the biggest internet service providers are GSM-led in the name of MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel Nigeria and 9mobile. With the financial power that Starlink through SpaceX, analyses have shown a potential clash.
Starlink establishment in Nigeria is expected to crash data cost and improve service, both of which have constantly been complained of by telecoms subscribers.
The best network service in Nigeria is costly within the country, so is the telcos with poor quality service - this has left subscribers with no choice but to settle.
Briefly News also reported Billionaire Elon Musk has said his multi-billion-dollar company, Tesla, will no longer be accepting payments in Bitcoin. This amid growing concerns that mining of the popular cryptocurrency may have detrimental effects on the environment.
Taking to his personal Twitter account, Musk expressed concerns over the increased use of fossil fuel to mine Bitcoin. The stock fell by thousands of dollars just minutes after Musk posted his tweet.
Musk did however make it clear that he had no intention of selling off any Bitcoin already owned, instead saving the currency for a time when the coin might transition to a more environmentally-friendly form of mining.
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Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Marilynn Manuel I am an experienced journalist with a keen interest in helping people tell their stories and writing content that inspires readers. When I’m not in front of my laptop producing viral articles for my publication, I find myself submerged in a fitness routine or trying new wellness smoothies. When I need some down time, I find that devouring a good book is equally as satisfying as reaching my health goals. Above all, I am a mom to a cute baby boy.
