Starlink stumbles in Africa as SA launch faces delay

Key topics:Starlink launched in 24 African countries, missing 2025 rollout targets.South Africa launch delayed due to telecom equity rules and Icasa requirements.Starlink proposes EEIPs, offering R2bn investment and free school Internet..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Hanno Labuschagne.SpaceX has rolled out its Starlink Internet service to fewer than half of the African countries it planned to add to its markets in 2025.By the end of December 2025, Starlink’s services were live in 24 African countries, an increase of ten from the same time last year.However, in December 2024, the Starlink map showed that the company planned to launch in 24 new African countries during 2025.The service also previously underachieved against its rollout target in 2024, managing to expand to only a fifth of the countries it had planned for that year.In mid-December, the Starlink map still indicated that it planned to roll out in 16 more African countries in 2025, despite the year being over.SpaceX has faced challenges navigating the ownership laws of several African countries and addressing local governments’ concerns over data sovereignty.South Africa is one of 11 countries where the service currently has no planned launch date. However, it is a lone holdout in the southern part of the continent.Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe have all launched the service. The last remaining neighbour, Namibia, was also set to receive Starlink services in 2025..Read more:.ANC hits back at Malatsi over Starlink and ICT ownership shake-up.While that may not have happened, the fact that it at least has an estimated launch date suggests Starlink is far more positive about a prospective rollout there.The South African launch has been delayed due to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa’s) ownership rules for telecoms licensees.Icasa demands that 30% of a licensee’s equity be owned by historically disadvantaged people, including black people, women, and people with disabilities.Some older global satellite Internet companies have overcome this by launching local subsidiaries or partnering with local Internet service providers (ISPs).Although Starlink also partners with telecoms operators for its direct-to-satellite and enterprise services, its residential and business products are direct-to-consumer offerings.Estimated R2-billion investment awaits.Starlink is keen on launching in South Africa, but it does not intend to pursue partnerships for its direct-to-consumer services.Instead, it has lobbied the government to introduce equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) as an alternative way to comply with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment rules.EEIPs are already used in many other industries in South Africa, including the technology sector, to enable global conglomerates to offer products and services locally without relinquishing equity.The company has offered to provide free, uncapped, high-speed Internet to 5,000 rural schools, at an estimated value of R500 million.Additional telecoms infrastructure rollouts are estimated to put the total value of its investment in South Africa at R2 billion.Starlink also intends to collaborate with local ISPs with respect to the installation and maintenance of school Internet infrastructure.The company is adamant that these goals will only be achievable if EEIPs are introduced in the ICT sector.The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies is currently considering submissions from the public and telecoms stakeholders regarding EEIPs for the sector.Even if it ends up introducing the mechanism, industry experts believe the soonest EEIPs could be introduced will be in 2027.That is an optimistic timeline that assumes legislative processes are fast and there are no legal challenges to the change.That leaves the door open for latecomers like Amazon Leo and SpaceSail, who may be more willing to launch their services in partnership with local ISPs.The status of Starlink’s services in African countries is summarised in the table below..This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission

Starlink stumbles in Africa as SA launch faces delay

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