Starlink’s R2bn BEE plan to power high-speed internet in SA
Key topics:
Starlink plans R2bn investment to expand broadband in SA.
EEIPs proposed as alternative to 30% BEE ownership rule.
Initiative aims to connect 2.4M learners via schools’ internet.
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SpaceX’s satellite Internet service Starlink has big plans for its launch in South Africa, with the company informing Internet service providers of its intention to invest nearly R2 billion in local infrastructure.
The company has also added establishing a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) company as part of its bid to secure an operating licence in South Africa.
Starlink market access senior director Ryan Goodnight revealed more about the company’s plans for the South African market at the Internet Service Providers’ Association annual general meeting this week.
A source who attended the meeting confirmed to MyBroadband that recordings of the meetings leaked to the media are legitimate.
Goodnight said Starlink planned to collaborate with local Internet service providers (ISPs) to install and maintain school internet infrastructure, operating on an open-access basis.
This is all in addition to the company’s planned R500-million investment in an equity equivalent programme to provide high-speed connectivity to thousands of schools in the country.
Goodnight added that the investment would help provide 2.4 million South African learners with high-speed broadband access.
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Currently, companies intending to obtain a telecommunications network or service license in South Africa must be at least 30% owned by historically disadvantaged individuals.
Having only this one avenue to comply with BEE requirements, unlike other industry sectors, has deterred SpaceX from launching its Starlink service in the country.
However, South Africa’s communications minister Solly Malatsi in May 2025 published a proposal to introduce equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) as an alternative to the ownership rules.
His plan was endorsed by his cabinet minister colleagues and President Cyril Ramaphosa. EEIPs would enable multinational telecoms players to meet empowerment obligations other than through the 30% ownership rule.
“The objectives of this policy direction are to give effect to existing national and sector policy pertaining to the rollout of broadband and the bridging of the digital divide,” Malatsi’s proposal reads.
The minister also believes that introducing EEIPs will help encourage investment and promote competition in the sector.
However, some Members of Parliament heavily opposed his proposal, stating that it was explicitly designed to give Starlink a workaround to BEE.
One such critic is chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Diko.
“It’s clear that this is part of what I believe is an agenda that is largely driven by the Democratic Alliance, and I think some of its reactionary partners,” Diko, an ANC member, said.
“It’s really unfortunate that in our portfolio, the minister there, as his party calls him, is a DA minister, and you can see how some of those policies are trying to find their way into the portfolio.”
Strong public support
Malatsi’s policy proposal included a 30-day public comment period, during which it received an enormous 19,000 submissions.
It should be noted that Starlink had sent emails to South Africans who had shown interest in the service, urging them to support the policy direction on EEIPs.
In August 2025, Malatsi said the responses were being analysed, but added that his department’s initial viewing showed strong support for EEIPs in the telecoms space.
Despite the criticism from Parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously expressed his support for Malatsi’s policy direction.
He said EEIPs are consistent with South African law and the government’s economic transformation and black empowerment goals.
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According to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, EEIPs are designed for multinationals whose global policies prevent them from complying with South Africa’s black ownership rules.
“Provided that it can be proven that such entities do not enter into any partnership arrangements in other countries globally, the Codes of Good Practice have made provision for the recognition of contributions in lieu of a direct sale of equity,” it said.
Currently, other multinational tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are operating in South Africa through EEIPs.
This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission