Appearing at public hearings hosted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), SpaceX urged regulators to address the ownership compliance rules currently preventing Starlink from securing an operating license in South Africa. Representing SpaceX, Ryan Goodnight, Senior Director for Market Access and Development, addressed the authority regarding draft amendments to the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations and associated fee structures, praising the consultation as a major alignment with global best practice while calling for key regulatory adjustments.
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SpaceX commended ICASA’s draft framework, which introduces a registration regime for satellite space segment operators alongside blanket licensing for user terminals. Drawing on experience from over 680 successful missions and 12 million active Starlink users globally, SpaceX submitted several specific technical recommendations to optimize satellite deployment:
- Gateway Licensing: Restructure gateway fees to apply per license rather than per physical earth station, allowing a single license to cover multiple nationwide facilities.
- Spectrum Expansion: Broaden Ku-band allocations for earth stations in motion, such as maritime and aviation terminals.
- Terminal Simplification: Confirm that a single blanket license covers an entire terminal fleet regardless of hardware iteration, while clarifying that terminal network fees apply strictly to domestic users rather than foreign roaming terminals.
- Regulatory Certainty: Establish a minimum 10-year license duration with transparent renewal criteria to incentivize long-term infrastructure investment.
The primary barrier to Starlink’s expansion into South Africa remains statutory rather than technical. Under the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), individual license holders must maintain a minimum 30% equity stake owned by historically disadvantaged groups (HDGs), a requirement SpaceX has resisted globally as it does not cede local equity.
Although Communications Minister Solly Malatsi gazetted a policy direction instructing ICASA to recognize Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) as an alternative compliance mechanism, ICASA confirmed it cannot enforce EEIPs without formal legislative changes to the ECA. While government officials signalled intent to pursue statutory revisions, the current draft of the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill contains no ownership or equity equivalence provisions, leaving the regulatory pathway unresolved. Consequently, SpaceX has yet to lodge a formal license application.
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During the proceedings, ICASA Senior Manager for Spectrum Licensing Riaan van der Colff expressed openness to simplifying user terminal administration, agreeing that minor hardware updates should not require fresh licensing applications. However, van der Colff questioned whether SpaceX’s proposed flat-fee model would encourage efficient spectrum utilization, requesting comparative international data where flat-fee structures have succeeded.
A finalized, workable licensing framework remains critical for South Africa’s broader telecommunications landscape. Satellite constellations are increasingly viewed as the fastest mechanism to bridge the digital divide in remote rural regions where fibre and terrestrial mobile networks remain economically unfeasible. As regulatory uncertainty keeps South Africa offline, Starlink continues to expand commercial operations across neighbouring African markets.
