Uganda has officially entered the Starlink era.
The satellite internet service has opened commercial orders in the country, allowing households, businesses and organisations to subscribe directly after months of regulatory negotiations and approvals.
Starlink's arrival follows an operational licence agreement signed with the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) earlier this year, a deal witnessed by President Yoweri Museveni at State House, Entebbe. The agreement paved the way for the satellite internet provider to establish operations under Uganda's regulatory framework.
But barely hours after the launch, attention has shifted from the excitement of faster satellite internet to one major issue — the price.
For ordinary residential users, Starlink's entry-level package is listed at Shs203,704 per month, offering unlimited data and speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
However, getting connected requires a much bigger initial investment.
The Standard hardware kit is priced at Shs1,743,778. Customers must also pay a Shs437,036 regulatory charge and Shs115,741 for shipping and handling, pushing the estimated upfront payment to approximately Shs2.3 million before the first monthly subscription is even paid.
It is the Shs437,036 regulatory fee that has particularly caught the attention of Ugandans online.
Starlink's ordering platform attributes the charge to local regulatory requirements, with the fee applying to equipment connected in Uganda. The charge has quickly become one of the biggest talking points surrounding the company's long-awaited arrival.
STARLINK VS MTN AND AIRTEL
The pricing debate becomes even more interesting when Starlink is placed alongside Uganda's established fibre internet providers.
MTN Uganda currently advertises a 100 Mbps fibre package at Shs110,000 for 30 days under its auto-renewal offer.
Airtel Uganda, meanwhile, advertises fibre-to-the-home packages starting from 100 Mbps at Shs99,000.
That means Starlink's Shs203,704 monthly package costs significantly more than comparable advertised 100 Mbps fibre offers from the country's two biggest telecom operators.
But Starlink is not entering the market to simply fight fibre companies street by street in Kampala.
Its biggest advantage could be geography.
While fibre requires physical infrastructure and mobile networks depend on tower coverage, Starlink's low-Earth-orbit satellite system can potentially deliver high-speed connectivity to locations where laying fibre is expensive or traditional mobile coverage remains unreliable.
That could make the service particularly attractive to remote schools, lodges, farms, construction sites, health facilities and businesses operating far from major urban centres.
For Kampala households already connected to affordable fibre, however, the numbers may be harder to justify.
Starlink has finally landed in Uganda — but the real battle has only just begun.
The question now is whether Ugandans will pay a premium for internet that can reach places where fibre simply cannot.