Zimbabweans
can
now
buy
the
service
directly
from
Starlink
on
its website,
or
from
local
authorised
resellers
in
the
country.
The
internet
service’s
availability
in
Zimbabwe
was
awaited
for
months
owing
to
the
expensive
internet
prices
in
the
country
by
established
providers.
Zimbabwe’s
launch
follows
hard
on
the
heels
of
the
Botswana
launch
earlier
in
the
week.
Starlink
Prices
in
Zimbabwe
The
Starlink
website
shows
that
the
standard
kit
can
be
bought
for
US
$350.
The
Starlink
Mini
kit
can
be
bought
for
$200.
The
monthly
subscription
for
the
service
is
$50
for
the
basic
residential
unlimited
data
package.
For
the
Starlink
mini
package,
the
monthly
subscription
is
US
$30
a
month.
The
local
Authorised
partner
that
has
been
announced
so
far
in
Zimbabwe
is
a
company
called
Frampol.
How
Starlink
works
Starlink
uses
a
satellite
system
to
provide
internet.
When
you
buy
the
kit,
you
install
it
by
pointing
its
dish
to
the
sky
the
same
way
a
DStv
dish
is
installed.
Because
it
uses
satellites,
like
DStv
it
can
be
installed
at
any
location
where
there
is
a
clear
view
of
the
sky.
The
monthly
internet
subscriptions
for
Starlink
can
be
made
online
using
a
prepaid
Visa
or
Mastercard
debit
card
in
Zimbabwe.
Payment
can
also
be
made
to
local
Starlink
authorised
resellers.
The
service
has
unlimited
data,
which
means
that
once
the
subscription
of
$50
has
been
paid,
one
can
use
as
much
internet
as
they
want.
This
makes
it
ideal
for
families,
small
businesses,
schools,
mines,
farms,
and
tourism
destinations
in
remote
places
where
network
coverage
has
traditionally
been
a
challenge.
Competing
Services
from
other
internet
providers
Established
internet
providers
in
Zimbabwe
have
in
recent
months
revised
their
prices
and
packages
in
anticipation
of
the
Starlink
launch.
Econet,
the
largest
mobile
internet
provider
in
the
country,
now
has an
LTE
unlimited
data
service
for
$45
a
month.
Utande,
Liquid,
TelOne,
Powertel,
and
Telco
have
also
introduced
promotional
packages
to
prepare
for
the
touch
competition.
It
is
however
ultimately
difficult
for
established
providers
to
compete
due
to
Starlink’s
satellite
infrastructure
giving
it
global
network
coverage
anywhere
a
customer
may
be.
Liquid
and
TelOne
have
announced
that
they
are
working
on
offering
their
own
satellite
powered
internet
services
in
the
future.