Second Starlink ground station in Africa goes live in Nairobi, Kenya

TL;DR 

• The second Starlink ground station (PoP) in Africa has gone live in Nairobi, significantly improving service quality for Kenyan users.
• The Point of Presence reduces latency by allowing for more direct communication between Starlink satellites and the ground, leading to faster speeds and improved responsiveness.
• Prior to Nairobi the only other Starlink Point of Presence in Africa was located in Nigeria, resulting in higher latency for users across the continent.
• Lower latency enhances the user experience, making Starlink more suitable for latency-sensitive applications like gaming and video conferencing.

Starlink has established a Point of Presence (PoP) in Nairobi, Kenya. This marks a significant milestone for the company in Africa, as prior to this, the only Starlink PoP on the continent was located in Nigeria.

The commissioning of the Nairobi PoP follows a period where Starlink halted registrations for new accounts in the city and its surrounding areas.

This pause in service was likely implemented due to high demand exceeding the capacity of the existing network infrastructure.

At the time of writing, Nairobi and its environs remain marked as “sold out” on the Starlink map, and it’s uncertain when service will become available again for new customers.

Understanding Latency and its Impact

One area where Starlink internet can lag behind terrestrial options like fiber and mobile broadband is latency. Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another.

In the case of Starlink, your dish communicates with a satellite orbiting hundreds of kilometers above Earth. This satellite then relays the data to a ground station connected to the internet.

Also Read: Starlink Bypass Mode: What is it and how do you enable it?

This multi-hop journey contributes to higher latency compared to terrestrial connections where data travels shorter distances to reach the internet backbone.

The Role of Starlink Ground Stations (PoPs)

Reducing latency requires minimizing the distance data travels. While increasing the number of satellites in orbit helps, a crucial factor is the number and location of ground stations.

Previously, with only one Point of Presence in Africa located in Nigeria, data from Kenyan users often had to travel longer distances through the satellite network, resulting in higher latency.

The new Kenyan PoP allows for more direct communication between Starlink satellites and the ground, significantly reducing the distance data needs to travel. This translates to lower latency for users in Kenya.

Many users reported experiencing latency between 120 and 150 milliseconds before the Nairobi PoP went live. However, some are now reporting consistently lower latency figures in the 30-millisecond range.

Conclusion

The establishment of the Nairobi Point of Presence is a crucial step towards improving Starlink’s service quality in Africa. By reducing latency, Starlink can enhance the user experience, making it more suitable for latency-sensitive applications such as online gaming and video conferencing.

While Starlink doesn’t publicly disclose the exact number of global PoPs (estimated to be around 33 before the Nairobi addition, with a concentration in North America), the expansion of its ground infrastructure is essential for improving service quality worldwide.