Elon Musk’s satellite broadband initiative, Starlink, is encountering significant opposition regarding its licensing in Lesotho. The rights group Section 2 demands that Starlink allocate up to 30% of its equity to the Basotho people as a condition for licensing.
This organisation has approached the Lesotho Communications Authority, which serves a similar function to South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority, to express their concerns over Starlink’s licensing. They emphasise that local ownership is missing from the equation, stating, “We respectfully oppose the issuance of this licence to Starlink due to the complete absence of local ownership.”
Recently, Musk criticised South Africa’s telecommunications licensing requirements, which mandate a minimum 30% shareholding by “historically disadvantaged” individuals or groups. He expressed his frustration with X, claiming that the licensing process in South Africa is unjust because “I am not black.”
Section 2 describes itself as a nonpartisan organisation committed to ensuring that governance decisions benefit the Basotho. Their statement highlighted the tradition of local shareholding in Lesotho’s telecom sector. For instance, Econet Telecom Lesotho has a 30% ownership stake held by the government, while Vodacom Lesotho features a 20% ownership stake by a local consortium.
Section 2 pointed out that Starlink Lesotho is owned by Starlink Holdings Netherlands, with its directors solely US citizens. According to Sekabi, this structure undermines the possibility of local ownership and risks excluding Basotho citizens from the economic advantages associated with telecommunications operations, like profit sharing and job creation.
According to its service availability map, Starlink plans to implement its services in Lesotho by 2025. In South Africa, where Musk is challenging the country’s black empowerment regulations, the timeline for launch remains uncertain. Notably, Starlink has successfully launched services in neighbouring countries such as Eswatini, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, leaving Namibia as the only bordering country without commercial Starlink services, although a launch is expected there this year.
