Kenya Proposes 1,000% Hike in Licensing Fees for Starlink and Other Satellite ISPs

Gate News message, April 14 — Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA) has proposed raising the 15-year operating license fee for satellite internet service providers from $12,302 to $115,331, a 1,000% increase. The new guidelines, published in December 2024, also require ISPs to pay an annual fee equivalent to 0.4% of their total revenue.

The proposal aims to expand satellite coverage and operational scope, allowing providers to manage tracking facilities, telemetry systems, and terrestrial cables. The CA stated the changes are designed to ensure technology neutrality and remove market entry barriers.

Starlink entered Kenya in July 2023 and has seen rapid growth. As of December 2024, the service had over 8,500 users, representing a more than 1,000% increase. CA data showed satellite subscribers grew 1,955.3% in Q4 2024, with 96.9% of users subscribed to speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps. Kenya’s total international internet bandwidth capacity reached 21,244.338 Gbps by June 2024, up 2.4%.

In November 2024, Starlink suspended new subscriptions in Nairobi and six other counties due to network overload, citing insufficient bandwidth to support additional residential or roaming customers. The company said only plans costing above KSh 130,000 per month remained available and that it was working to restore services in affected areas.