Page 102 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Starlink Cuts Latency by Over 80% in Kenya

“In Kenya itself, our customers have seen average latency drop from
120 ms down to 26 ms” These were the words of Jimmy Grewal,
managing director at Elcome and an authorized reseller of Starlink
dishes to commercial ships, immediately after Starlink activated
a Point of Presence (PoP) in Nairobi, Kenya. The Starlink ground
station in Nairobi, the company’s second in Africa after Nigeria,
came online at the end of January 2025. Its main objective was to
mitigate latency challenges that the satellite-based internet service
provider often faces. After the Nairobi PoP went live, latency for
many users has dropped significantly: from 120-150 milliseconds
to as low as 30 milliseconds. PoPs act as internet gateways.
They relay user data from satellites to major internet exchange
points (IXPs) and are located near high-speed fiber networks to
minimize data travel time. Starlink currently operates 37 similar
ground stations worldwide. A report confirms that the activation of networks. To be particular, a few countries like Madagascar and
Starlink’s Nairobi PoP significantly improved the user experience Sierra Leone are still experiencing very high latency. The PoP
across East Africa. Deployment led to an enhancement in both launch in Nairobi was important to enhance capacity. In late 2024,
upload speeds and reduced latency for countries in the region. For the Elon Musk-owned company paused new account registrations
example, Kenya’s upload speeds more than doubled from Q4 2024 in Nairobi and its surrounding areas due to network capacity
to Q1 2025, hitting 14.85 Mbps. Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia also issues. After a seven-month freeze, new subscriptions resumed in
saw considerable gains, with their upload speeds increasing by June. While Starlink struggles in terms of latency against terrestrial
over 60%. According to the report, in terms of latency, “During Q1 networks, its overall user experience is better. Ookla’s report shows
2025, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda led the continent in median multi- that Starlink’s satellite internet services are two to four times faster
server latency at 53ms, 60ms, and 67ms, respectively.” Kenya and than other ISPs in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia.
Rwanda experienced drops of 81% and 70%, respectively, in multi- The speed difference is less than double in a few spots, like Ghana,
server latency. However, despite notable improvements in Q1 2025, Rwanda, and Madagascar.
Starlink latency in the region remains higher than that of terrestrial

Sateliot Announces New Satellites and Imminent Launch in Brazil

teroperable global coverage. The new satellites include significant
enhancements compared to the models already in orbit, enabling
improved performance and greater payload capacity. This archi-
tecture, says Sateliot is capable of supporting advanced commu-
nication services in civilian contexts, critical security operations,
territorial protection, or emergency response scenarios. Sateliot
says it already holds contracted commitments worth approximate-
ly EUR270 million (US$318 million) with over 400 clients across 50
countries. It is also preparing to launch its commercial service in
Brazil after recently a spectrum license granted by regulator Anatel
in late June. Sateliot, together with the Brazilian Association of the
Internet of Things (ABINC) plans to promote a hybrid connectivity
model to help close the digital gap in sectors such as agriculture,
mining, and logistics. Sateliot has been engaged in Brazil for nearly
Satellite operator Sateliot, which says it is the first company to op- two years as a member of ABINC, one of the country’s leading en-
erate a constellation of 5G NB-IoT satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), tities in the IoT ecosystem. This affiliation has enabled Sateliot to
has announced a boost to its satellite deployment plans, along with explore technical and commercial collaboration with companies,
preparations to launch its commercial service in Brazil. Sateliot institutions, and local operators, with which it is already working
says it is entrusting the manufacture of its next five satellites to the and holding advanced discussions. Current partnerships with ma-
Spanish firm Alén Space. These satellites, which will become part jor mobile operators allow end users to continue using standard,
of its LEO network, support its roadmap to deploy a constellation unmodified cellular IoT devices that connect seamlessly to both
of over 100 satellites, fully developed in Barcelona and validated terrestrial networks and Sateliot’s non-terrestrial network (NTN) –
by standards group 3GPP, with the goal of delivering secure and in- while retaining their existing SIM cards from local operators.

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