Starlink will comply with South African black economic empowerment legislation, is ready to launch services in the country and will spend R2.5-billion doing so, a company executive said on Tuesday. Ryan Goodnight, senior director in charge of market access at Starlink owner SpaceX, told the annual general meeting of South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association…
Paratus Group executive chairman Barney Harmse joins the TechCentral Show to share the story of the telecommunications group’s rise from small beginnings in Angola and Namibia more than 20 years ago and how it became one of Southern Africa’s biggest ICT infrastructure players. Paratus started life in Angola in 2003, evolving from a local internet…
Starlink operator SpaceX “cannot undermine the sovereignty of South Africa” if it wishes to operate in the country. This was the message from Khusela Sangoni-Diko, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, during a wide-ranging interview with ITWeb TV. She also reflected on the workings of the committee under the Government of…
The author, Jessica Gbedemah When Elon Musk claimed earlier this year that Starlink was being blocked in South Africa because of black economic empowerment rules, it ignited a debate that went far beyond satellite internet. Communications regulator Icasa quickly countered that no application for a licence had been received. The clash has left South Africa…
A Starlink terminal Some Kenyans turned to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service after the government tried to restrict access to the internet during last year’s protests that left more than 60 dead. Anti-government demonstrations returned in June. This time, though, Starlink’s appeal has faded. Those who purchased the service may have thought it could…
Regulatory obstacles in South Africa could cost Starlink its usual first-mover advantage, potentially allowing Amazon’s Project Kuiper to enter the local market concurrently or even sooner. Kuiper, which began launching satellites in April, plans beta testing soon, with a commercial rollout expected in 2026. Amazon representatives have reportedly met with local telecoms ahead of this…
A roof-mounted Project Kuiper terminal. Image: Amazon Regulatory hurdles in the way of Starlink’s pursuit of a local operating licence could see the SpaceX subsidiary losing the first-mover advantage it has enjoyed in most markets. This as competitor, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, looks to enter the local market. Kuiper in April began launching its satellites into…
SpaceX’s Starlink suffered one of its biggest international outages on Thursday when an internal software failure knocked users offline, a rare disruption for Elon Musk’s powerful satellite internet system. Users in the US and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 9pm SAST, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker. Starlink, which has more than…
South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk has traded barbs with EFF leader Julius Malema South Africa’s fourth-largest political party, which has long warred with billionaire Elon Musk, has warned it will “never allow” Musk’s Starlink satellite service to be launched in the country. In an address to parliament on Friday, at the department of communications &…
SpaceX subsidiary Starlink has first-mover advantage in the low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband market, but many well-funded competitors are snapping at its heels, including some from China. As of last month, Starlink had some 7 800 satellites in orbit, accounting for more than 65% of all active LEO constellations. Starlink has already sought regulatory approval to…
