Internet Competition: High Court To Decide Starlink's Market Fate In Case Against Safaricom

• Kituo Cha Sheria filed a certificate of urgency insisting that Starlink should be allowed to provide satellite internet services in Kenya
• Other parties in the case (Safaricom and Communications Authority of Kenya) agreed to drop preliminary issues
• Starlink, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, offers high-speed broadband to remote areas and entered the Kenyan market in July 2023

TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers profound insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

The High Court is set to hear a petition seeking to allow satellite internet provider Starlink to operate in Kenya.

The parties in the case, Kituo Cha Sheria, Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), and Safaricom, agreed to drop preliminary issues, paving the way for the case to be heard speedily.

"The preliminary objection and interlocutory application are hereby compromised in favour of the main petition," Justice Lawrence Mugambi directed, as reported by Business Daily.

The judge ordered the parties to file responses and submissions ahead of the hearing on November 25.

Why Kituo Cha Sheria backs Starlink

Kituo Cha Sheria moved to court backing the entrance of American billionaire Elon Musk's company to the market.

It dismissed Safaricom's claims that Starlink's entrance to the market posed a threat to mobile network quality.

In its petition, the NGO argued that Safaricom was Starlink's competitor, and as such, it provided a biased judgment in its letter to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

Through lawyer Marc Chirchir, Kituo Cha Sheria wants the court to direct CA and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to conduct a study to determine the regulation of satellite internet providers.

Kituo Cha Sheria said the threat to stop Starlink from operating in Kenya should be stopped to allow Kenyans to afford high-speed internet.

When did Starlink enter the Kenyan market?

Starlink offers high-speed broadband to remote areas and entered the Kenyan market in July 2023.

It uses satellite to send internet connectivity signals to users instead of standard broadband, which uses optic fibre and copper cables.

The company aims to connect many people worldwide in remote areas that traditional internet service providers have not covered.

What to know about Starlink and Safaricom

• Starlink has been reviewing its pricing to attract Kenyan consumers, offering broadband internet access with speeds up to 200 Mbps.
• Safaricom increased the internet speeds of its Wi-Fi packages to enhance its competitiveness against rising competition from Starlink.
• Starlink announced plans to allow mobile phone users a direct connection to the satellite internet via advanced Evolved Node B.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke