Elon Musk, the renowned tech mogul and founder of SpaceX, has publicly apologized following a major disruption to Starlink’s satellite internet service, which left thousands of users disconnected globally for over two hours on Thursday night. Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Musk expressed regret over the incident, stating simply, “Sorry,” as he acknowledged the unexpected outage. The issue, which marked one of Starlink’s most widespread international service interruptions to date, was reportedly caused by an internal software malfunction that disrupted high-speed satellite connectivity for tens of thousands of users around the world. In response, Musk gave assurances that the root cause would be identified and rectified to prevent a recurrence. He wrote, “Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” Since its inception, SpaceX has successfully launched over 8,000 Starlink satellites into orbit since 2020, expanding global broadband internet access, especially in underserved regions. In Nigeria, Starlink recently resumed service activations nationwide. This move comes after a temporary halt last year, which lasted from October to November, due to pending regulatory approvals. As of last month, the service has been reactivated for users in Lagos, Abuja, and other major cities across Nigeria. The US-based company noted that demand in Nigeria remains strong, especially in urban areas, following the platform’s return. It’s important to recall that in October 2024, Starlink faced regulatory backlash for increasing subscription prices without prior approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). With over 60,000 Nigerian subscribers at the time, the sudden price hike led to temporary service restrictions.
