When Starlink officially launches in South Africa, existing users will likely experience a decrease in the cost of the satellite broadband service. Despite its lack of local operating licenses, thousands of households, businesses, and government departments in South Africa are using Starlink. These users have been leveraging Starlink’s regional roaming service, allowing them to use their Starlink kits outside of their home country for an additional monthly fee. However, a recent price increase for the regional roaming service has prompted concerns.
Starlink’s terms and conditions for the roaming service only permit users to roam for 60 days at a time before the kit must return home. Although this rule has not been strictly enforced, Starlink has recently started disconnecting users in South Africa for violating this requirement.
A recent change to the roaming service has extended the grace period for many South African users by effectively upgrading regional roaming to global roaming, granting an additional 60 days’ grace.
If Starlink were to officially launch in South Africa, existing users would no longer bear the administrative burden and extra cost associated with roaming. However, concerns have been raised about the potential competitive impact of Starlink’s direct dealings with customers instead of working through resellers, as it does elsewhere in the world. Industry players are worried that this approach could disrupt local satellite broadband resellers and wireless Internet service providers, potentially harming small businesses in the industry. Over the long term, as Starlink’s technology advances, it could threaten local ISPs and broadband infrastructure providers.
Despite these concerns, South Africa’s largest Wisp, Herotel, has expressed confidence and interest in Starlink. Herotel CEO Van Zyl Botha stated that Starlink could be a valuable product for connecting rural South Africa, and they would be interested in managing and supporting the technology for their customers.
Regarding fair market entry for Starlink, Botha emphasized the importance of non-exclusivity in distribution. He expressed the desire to utilize Starlink as an additional technology to solve connectivity issues for customers alongside fibre and fixed wireless solutions.
The Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa (ISPA) has also expressed openness to Starlink entering the country, provided that it complies with all regulations and laws that local ISPs must adhere to. Compliance with the Electronic Communications Act, Rica, tax laws, and other regulations has been highlighted as essential for a level playing field.
In addition to regulatory compliance, Starlink also faces challenges obtaining the necessary network, service, and spectrum licenses from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). Icasa has not issued new Individual Electronic Communications Network Service (I-ECNS) and Individual Electronic Communications Service (I-ECS) licenses in fourteen years, posing a significant hurdle for Starlink. Moreover, the need to meet BEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) ownership requirements presents another obstacle for the company.
This situation emphasizes the complexities and considerations involved in integrating a new technology like Starlink into the South African market, and the need for thorough compliance with local regulations and licensing requirements.
