Elon Musk’s satellite service company, Starlink has held talks with the South African government to introduce the satellite service in the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters today that he held talks with the company over potential investments.
“I have had discussions with him and have said, Elon, you become so successful and you’re investing in a variety of countries, I want you to come home and invest here,” Ramaphosa told reporters in Pretoria. “He and I are going to have a further discussion.”
Recall that Musk announced on X, four days ago that the the satellite company has launched its services in the neighbouring country, Zimbabwe. This is coming three months after the country’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa announced an approval of a license to allow the internet service company to operate.
Starlink’s launch in Zimbabwe is coming two weeks after it launched in Botswana. This makes it the fastest-growing internet service as it is now available in over 107 countries globally and in 16 African countries. The internet company has also launched in South Sudan and Ghana in the past month.
The license approval and eventual launch follows a government crackdown episode on unregistered users smuggling Starlink kits from neighbouring countries like Zambia.
Recall that we reported that the government of Zimbabwe ordered the company to shut down its services in the country. The order was issued by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) in an email.
The announcement caused many followers to question the cause of the delay in launching in Africa’s largest economy and the country where Musk was born. In response to the queries, Musk said that it is “waiting for regulatory approval”.
According to TechCentral, President Ramaphosa pointed out that Starlink approached for talks. A spokesman for Starlink didn’t respond to an earlier request for comment. Analysts are hopeful that as it was with Zimbabwe, meeting with the nation’s president will lead to an eventual launch in South Africa very soon.
South Africa is now one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t have an estimated in-service date. It was reported in April that Starlink is not going to work in South Africa because the company didn’t want to share ownership with locals as per the government’s requirements.
Starlink refused to comply with the country’s BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) requirements to gift 30% ownership to local historically disadvantaged people. Also, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and the Minister of Communications have failed to issue new communications licences in about 13 years.
Icasa says it has not received any application for a licence from Starlink, nor has the company approached the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies (DCDT), according to a report.
“It is of utmost importance to note that all licence applications have to go through Icasa and not DCDT,” they said.
Ironically, Icasa has not yet enacted its new regulations, leaving the future of Starlink in South Africa uncertain. The delay and confusion surrounding these regulations may have rendered Starlink’s withdrawal unnecessary.
However, in another report this July, it is said that Starlink’s satellite Internet service has remained online in South Africa for over two months despite warnings that it would cut off people using its roaming service in areas with no official support. The broadband service’s roaming has been working in South Africa since at least early 2023.
“Service date is unknown at this time,” according to an official map showing Starlink’s global launch plans as of press time.
Other countries in the region with published forecast go-live dates include Mauritius (sometime in 2025), Angola (fourth quarter of 2024), Tanzania (also Q4 2024), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2025), Comoros (2025) and the Seychelles (2025).
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