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Third-party retailers dominate Starlink sales in Nigeria amid direct sales freeze

March 11, 2025

Since October 2024, third-party retailers dominate Starlink sales in Nigeria amid direct sales freeze as Nigerian customers seeking to subscribe to Starlink have been unable to purchase kits directly from the internet provider.

The halt in direct sales, which Starlink says was due to overcapacity, comes as the company, which has rapidly expanded its footprint in Nigeria, faces regulatory challenges and capacity constraints.

Starlink’s demand surged in late 2024, making it Nigeria’s second-largest internet service provider by subscriber base. However, since October 2024, new customers have been placed on a waitlist as direct orders remain unavailable.

The sales freeze followed the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision to block a proposed tariff hike. New subscribers in major cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Benin City, and Port Harcourt have been unable to place orders directly from Starlink’s website.

When attempting to order, prospective customers receive a message stating: “Starlink is currently at capacity in your area. However, you can place a deposit now to reserve your spot on the waitlist and receive a notification when service becomes available. We cannot provide an estimated timeframe for availability, but our teams are working to expand coverage as quickly as possible.”

The direct sales freeze has created a market for third-party resellers, many of whom continue to receive shipments. Joshua, CEO of JP Gadgets in Ikeja, Lagos, told TechCabal that he never ran out of stock and even received a fresh shipment from Starlink in January 2025.

“Starlink is everywhere in the market. I don’t know why they’re not selling directly to individuals,” he said. “It’s possible they’re indirectly pushing customers to buy from distributors in Nigeria. Distributors order in bulk, which gives Starlink a bigger margin.”

To bypass restrictions, some resellers reportedly use foreign addresses—often in neighboring countries like Benin and Cameroon—to facilitate activations. “Nigeria has loose borders,” said Joshua Attah, CEO of The TechCorner in Abuja, who also installs Starlink for customers.

This workaround has led to price discrepancies, with Starlink kits officially priced at ₦590,000 ($375) and selling for as much as ₦650,000 ($413) through resellers. Installation costs have also varied widely, ranging between ₦30,000 ($19) and ₦50,000 ($32), depending on location and service provider.

Many customers who purchased Starlink kits before the freeze have reported issues with plan selection, with some being forced onto the more expensive “Roam Unlimited” mobile plan.

“They’re forcing me to use the mobile roaming plan, which is way more expensive,” said Sochima, a network engineer in Lagos who wanted to be identified by his first name. Starlink’s regional roaming plan currently costs ₦49,000 ($31) per month, while global roaming is priced at ₦717,000 ($456).

Starlink has struggled with capacity constraints in Nigeria, particularly in high-demand urban areas like Lagos and Abuja. Elon Musk confirmed in November 2024 that new sign-ups were paused in major African cities due to overwhelming demand.

The company’s ability to expand coverage depends on deploying additional satellites or upgrading to high-capacity models such as Starlink V2.0—costly investments that require significant capital. As of February 28, 2025, SpaceX has launched 8,039 Starlink satellites, with 7,082 still in orbit and 7,049 operational.

While Starlink has expanded aggressively globally, its satellite deployments prioritize North America and Europe, where demand and regulatory conditions favor business growth. Africa, by contrast, has a lower satellite density, limiting service availability.

Some third-party installers have found creative ways to bypass activation restrictions to keep customers online. “If a customer in Wuse, Abuja, couldn’t activate their device due to overcapacity, an installer would use an address in Garki, where capacity was still available, to get it activated,” Attah said.

Since October 2024, Nigerian customers have struggled to get support from Starlink, facing prolonged response times—or no response at all—for issues like payment failures and account changes. In contrast, similar requests from U.S.-based users have been addressed almost instantly, according to Attah.”

For now, Nigerian customers eager to join Starlink’s network will have to navigate the reseller market or wait indefinitely for direct sales to resume.

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