2024 could be the year for Starlink in Nam

William Brederode - While Starlink might be licensed to operate in a host of African countries in 2024, including neighbours Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana, sorting out licensing in South Africa has been at a standstill.

Its fleet of low-Earth orbit satellites is able to provide fast and stable internet connectivity to most of the world.

Satellite internet service could prove to be a game-changer in rural areas of South Africa where it has been historically difficult for telecommunications companies to justify installing infrastructure.

While there is already Starlink network coverage across South Africa, the company is not able to offer services locally because it has not obtained an operating licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa has met with Starlink at least twice but has not yet received an application for a licence.

The communications register will not be allowed to grant an operating licence to Starlink unless the company fulfils certain requirements.

The biggest stumbling block seems to be the requirement that an applicant is 30% owned by persons from historically disadvantaged groups, including black people, women and people with disabilities.

Region

Starlink is further ahead with the licensing process in many other African countries.

In fact, the company is already legally operating in seven African countries, including Mozambique and Nigeria.

The company has an interactive map where it has forecast start dates for its operations in every region. According to the map, the company intends starting its operations in Namibia next year.

The vast majority of African countries, including all of South Africa's neighbouring countries, have quarters in 2024 listed for start dates.

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) told News24 in October this year that it was in discussions with Starlink, but had not received a formal application.

The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority also said it had received an application from Starlink in May, but refused to discuss the application with a third party.

Can't stop this

South Africans found a way to use Starlink this year, despite the fact that it doesn't have a licence to operate.

Third-party companies managed to import Starlink kits into the country on behalf of South African customers and managed their accounts.

IT-Lec in the Northern Cape and ICASAsePUSH are two companies that offered Starlink services in the country.

The companies took out Starlink Roam packages in other countries where the company's services are approved, which allows customers to use the kits anywhere that there is coverage.

More is charged for these services, but many customers seemingly don't mind.

IT-Lec director and investor Mauritz Coetzee told News24 in July that they had provided access to Starlink to around 1 700 clients.

However, Icasa recently published an official notice stating that providing access to Starlink's services in that way was illegal.

Competitors circling

While Starlink is attempting to resolve regulatory challenges in South Africa, satellite internet competitors have started showing intent to launch operations in South Africa.

Amazon's Project Kuiper teamed up with Vodacom and Vodafone in September to expand its low-Earth orbit satellite services to Europe and Africa.

OneWeb is also expected to start offering its low-Earth orbit satellite connectivity services in South Africa soon. – Fin24