Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, has reached full capacity in Zimbabwe’s capital region mere months after receiving operational approval. The rapid adoption has led to widespread service limitations across multiple areas in and around Harare, with several locations being marked as “Sold Out” on their availability map, including Norton, Ruwa, Chitungwiza, Dema, Mazowe, and Nyabira.
The capacity challenges have evolved progressively over time, beginning with high-density areas like Mbare and Highfields before spreading to the entirety of Harare. Initially marked as “Expanding Q3 2024,” the status was later updated to “Expanding 2025,” and now many areas are simply labeled as “Sold Out.” This represents a significant shift from previous practices where users could at least place deposits for future service.
The impact of this capacity crunch has led to significant changes in Starlink’s subscription process. New customers in affected areas now receive a message indicating that Starlink Residential is unavailable, with only the option to sign up for future availability notifications or consider the mobile offering, Starlink Roam. The cessation of deposit acceptance suggests a more severe capacity issue than initially anticipated.
The “Sold Out” status affects a substantial list of areas including Arcturus, Chitungwiza, parts of Concession, Dema, Epworth, parts of Glendale, Goromonzi, Harare, Juru, Manhenga, Mazowe, Melfort, Norton, Nyabira, and Ruwa. For residents in these affected areas, the recommended course of action is to sign up for Starlink updates and consider alternative internet service providers such as Econet’s SmartBiz, Liquid, Utande, TelOne, or Telco.
While Starlink Roam remains an option, it’s generally not recommended for average users due to its premium pricing of $100 monthly and lower service priority. The current “Sold Out” status may even impact the availability of roaming services in these areas, further limiting options for potential customers.
According to William Chui, a representative from a Starlink support company, the congestion has created significant challenges for both existing and potential customers. Previous workarounds, such as registering a service address 5km away, are no longer viable as the nearest available cells are now up to 20km away. The situation has become so severe that even roaming packages are restricted in congested areas, forcing customers to register their service address in less congested parts of Zimbabwe to access roaming capabilities.
This unprecedented demand for Starlink’s services in Zimbabwe highlights both the strong desire for reliable high-speed internet in the region and the challenges of scaling satellite internet infrastructure to meet rapidly growing user bases in urban areas.
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