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Thousands of Starlink subscribers across Nigeria are facing a race against time today, December 31, 2025, to complete a mandatory biometric update or face immediate service suspension. Starlink issued the notice to all its 66,000+ subscribers in Nigeria via email on Monday, December 29, 2025; that's just two days' notice to complete the KYC verification.
The Starlink email to customers read:Avoid Suspension: Complete Account Registration. As required by Nigerian authorities, all Starlink customers must complete Know Your Customer (KYC) verification to continue receiving service. This process takes less than two minutes. Please immediately submit your information. If you do not submit your information by December 31st, 2025, your service will be suspended. Reactivation is dependent on capacity. If your location is currently at capacity, you may be unable to re-activate if suspended.
The email further solidifies that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated that all satellite internet users must link their National Identification Number (NIN) and provide live biometric data to their accounts. This move brings Starlink in line with the strict "KYC" (Know Your Customer) regulations already enforced on mobile networks like MTN and Airtel.
An official from the NCC confirmed that the directive was sent out via a letter on August 19, 2025, to all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in the country. Initially, subscribers were given a 3-month window to comply, which would have ended on November 19, 2025. However, just two days before that cutoff, the Commission gave a "grace period" extension that shifted the final deadline to December 31, 2025.
The Starlink's statement indicates that should a subscriber's service be terminated due to non-compliance, restoration of that service is not guaranteed. "If you do not submit your information by December 31st, 2025, your service will be suspended. Reactivation is dependent on capacity. If your location is currently at capacity, you may be unable to reactivate if suspended," the company stated.
This is due to the fact that Starlink operates within specific bandwidth and hardware limitations per geographic region; many urban centres in Nigeria have already reached their maximum user threshold. Consequently, if an account is deactivated, the "slot" previously occupied by that subscriber may be immediately reallocated to an individual on the waiting list.
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This is called "The Capacity Limit," and it works differently because a typical SIM card "block" can be easily reversed by visiting any Gloworld, Airtel, or MTN shop near you. But Starlink users face a unique reactivation style.
Even if the original user subsequently completes the biometric verification, they may find themselves unable to reactivate their subscription until additional capacity becomes available in their specific location. Sources within the industry have mentioned Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt as major cities that are lobbying for slots in Nigeria.
How to Comply (The 2-Minute Fix)
If you've not completed the Starlink kit KYC yet, check your Starlink app or registered email immediately to begin the verification. The process involves:
- NIN Linking: Entering your 11-digit National Identification Number.
- Live Headshot: Uploading a real-time photograph for facial verification.
- Consent: Tapping "Agree" to share this data with Nigerian regulators.
According to a Starlink employee whom TechCabal spoke with on condition of anonymity, to remain compliant with regulatory requirements, users must submit a facial photograph for identification, input their 11-digit National Identification Number (NIN), and formally authorize the integration of these credentials with their Starlink profile.
NCC issued the directive as part of a broader national security effort to ensure every high-speed internet portal in the country is traceable to a verified individual. This regulatory framework for all ISPs operating in the country is an extension of the NCC’s established NIN-SIM linkage mandate, which was first applied to mobile networks on December 15, 2023, in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
This policy mandates all the telecom operators in the country to fully bar any unverified SIM that doesn't meet the final compliance deadline that was scheduled for September 14, 2024. The policy requires operators to verify subscribers' identification and cross-reference it with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) records, including biometric data.
In August 2025, NCC announced achieving a 96% compliance rate, resulting in the deactivation of millions of unverified lines. By applying these same standards to Starlink, the Commission is maintaining a consistent regulatory precedent aimed at ensuring all telecommunications services in Nigeria are linked to verified identities.
