Elon Musk, Starlink founder. (Pic credit: ALEX @ajtourville )

Starlink is working to enhance Internet capacity in Africa's densely populated urban areas as soon as possible.

This is according to Starlink founder and South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who announced the news on his X platform, noting that there is still significant capacity outside of city centers.

This comes after news that Starlink has temporarily banned new sign-ups in numerous African cities due to high demand for its service.

Starlink is popular in Kenya, one of Africa’s largest economies; nevertheless, the firm yesterday temporarily banned new subscriptions in the capital city of Nairobi.

According to a statement from the satellite Internet operator, the suspension is due to an overload in network capacity caused by increased demand.

“Nairobi and neighbouring areas are currently at network capacity. This means that too many users are trying to access the Starlink service within Nairobi, and there isn’t enough bandwidth to support additional residential or roaming customers now,” Starlink said.

It added: “Starlink is working to restore service in the disrupted areas and a notification will be sent once the residential plan is back.”

The affected areas include Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Narok, Murang'a, and Nakuru, where Starlink has witnessed considerable growth since its launch in Kenya in July 2023.

Since joining the Kenyan market, Starlink has risen to become the country's tenth largest internet service provider.

According to the most recent data from the Communication Authority of Kenya, the service has over 8,000 customers nationally, and that figure is growing.

The high-speed, low-latency connectivity provided by Starlink's low Earth orbit satellite constellation has made it popular, especially among users in Kenya's remote areas where traditional internet access is limited or slow.

In an effort to increase accessibility, the firm said earlier this year that it will cut hardware costs in Kenya from $574 (Ksh.74,000) when it first launched to $306 (Ksh.39,500).

In August, the company also announced a kit rental option, allowing users to pay a $21 (Ksh.2,700) one time activation fee.