“In some places, Starlink has been heralded as an affordable alternative to standard terrestrial internet services, which can be expensive and unreliable. In at least five of the 16 African countries where the service was available in January 2025, Starlink was cheaper than the leading fixed internet provider. In Zimbabwe, where users long suffered from slow speeds, frequent outages, and high data costs, demand for Starlink was so high that it sold out within weeks of its launch. It has become one of Nigeria’s top internet providers, unsettling local companies, who complain about unfair competition. When Bolivia banned Starlink in August 2024, people began smuggling Starlink kits from Peru and Chile. Last month, the U.S. secretary of state said that Bolivia’s new president has agreed to approve the service.”

From Rest of World.