Image: Starlink
SpaceX’s Starlink is closer than ever to launching in South Africa after a major regulatory shift removed one of the biggest barriers blocking the satellite internet provider from entering the country. As first highlighted by longtime Tesla watcher @SERobinsonJr, South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, has issued a new directive — Notice 3692 — ordering the telecom regulator ICASA to fully apply the 2016 ICT Sector Code for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) when evaluating license applications.
In practical terms, the move allows foreign-owned companies like SpaceX to meet South Africa’s long-standing requirement that 30% of telecom license holders be owned by historically disadvantaged groups through “Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes” rather than through direct local shareholding. These programs can include investments in digital-skills development, black-owned suppliers, or community initiatives. Until now, only equity ownership counted, which effectively barred SpaceX from entering the market — Elon Musk has repeatedly refused to sell local equity stakes in Starlink.
The policy update follows overwhelming public support, with Malatsi noting that 90% of more than 15,000 public submissions favored the change. It also aligns with SpaceX’s August 2025 proposal to ICASA, where the company endorsed an equity-equivalent model and committed roughly R500 million (~$28 million USD) to bring free Starlink-powered Wi-Fi and hardware to 5,000 rural schools. That initiative is part of a broader R2.5 billion (~$145 million USD) rollout of local infrastructure.
If finalized, the rule change would position Starlink to operate in Africa’s most industrialized economy without ceding ownership, opening the door to drastically improved high-speed connectivity — especially in rural regions, where only 1.7% of households currently have internet access.
The timing also comes as SpaceX accelerates global Starlink adoption. The service recently surpassed eight million users across 150 countries and territories, launched in South Korea earlier this month, and hit a new subscriber record in Kenya as of September. Approval in a major African market would further solidify Starlink’s rapid expansion.
South Africa’s policy reversal marks one of Starlink’s biggest regulatory breakthroughs yet — and could finally bring the low-Earth-orbit broadband service to millions of users who have long faced expensive or unreliable internet options.
