More than 92,000 Nigerians now pay monthly subscriptions to a company owned by the world's first trillionaire, and a new analysis by Dr. Akinola Morakinyo argues that this arrangement is the logical outcome of six decades of infrastructure under-investment.
Writing for Nairametrics, Morakinyo traces Starlink's growth in Nigeria from 23,897 subscribers at end-2023 to 91,991 by end-2025 — nearly quadrupling in two years to become the country's second-largest fixed broadband ISP by subscriber count. The service costs residential users **N57,000 per month (about $38)**, after a one-time equipment fee of at least N590,000, while businesses pay N159,000 monthly.
The article was prompted by Bloomberg's announcement that Elon Musk had crossed **$1 trillion in personal net worth**, following SpaceX's record $75 billion initial public offering on June 12, 2026, which valued the company at $1.77 trillion. Musk's aggregate wealth now exceeds the combined fortunes of the next four richest people globally and is roughly **3.3 times Nigeria's estimated 2025 nominal GDP of $334 billion**.
By contrast, Nigeria's sovereign satellite operator, NigComSat Limited, generated just **$1.6 million in total revenue in 2025**, while carrying $11.4 million in unpaid fees to its Chinese technical contractor, China Great Wall Industry Corporation. NigComSat-1R, launched in 2011 with a fifteen-year design life, has been extended to 2028 through careful fuel management, with replacement satellites NigComSat-2A and 2B planned for 2028 and 2029. Starlink earns more from Nigerian subscribers alone in just over two weeks than NigComSat earns in an entire year.
The op-ed argues that Nigeria's broadband failure is statistical, not mysterious. The National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 set a target of **70% broadband penetration** by end-2025; the actual figure was **50.58%** — a 19.4 percentage-point gap now effectively filled by a Texas-based satellite company.
Obstacles include an estimated **157 fibre optic cables vandalised daily** across the country, cut for scrap metal. Only **15 of Nigeria's 36 states** have removed the Right-of-Way fees that make fibre deployment economically viable for private operators, leaving 21 states with tariff regimes that price national fibre infrastructure out of rational investment.
Nigeria's telecoms sector generated **N7.67 trillion (approximately $5.1 billion)** in revenue in 2024, according to NCC data. MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa together accounted for over 85%, or roughly $4.4 billion, flowing annually to foreign shareholders. Starlink's 92,000 subscribers alone contribute approximately **N62.9 billion ($41.9 million)** in annual subscription revenue that is largely repatriated to the United States.
The author proposes three specific reforms: First, the federal government should resolve NigComSat's $11.4 million debt and capitalise the NigComSat-2A and 2B programme with an explicit commercial broadband mandate measured in subscriber counts and connection speeds relative to Starlink. Second, the National Assembly should legislate a uniform Right-of-Way fee cap across all 36 states, ending the current patchwork that deters fibre investment. Third, Nigeria must treat its engineers and technology professionals as productive capital that compounds when retained, through equity participation in state-sponsored technology ventures and deliberate domestic employment pipelines.
The author's modelling suggests a credible reform path could bring Nigeria to about 80% broadband penetration by 2030, against a status quo trajectory that plateaus below 60% — a near 20-point difference with direct economic consequences for businesses, households, and government revenue.
*Dr. Akinola Morakinyo writes on MINT economies from the Department of Economics, Finance & Quantitative Analysis, Kennesaw State University, GA, USA.*
