Starlink’s South African ambitions face transformation test

South Africa is again signalling an openness to Starlink’s entry into the local market, but the satellite internet operator would still have to navigate the country’s ownership and transformation requirements.

Deputy Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele said on September 28 that the government was prepared to welcome the service provided it operated within South Africa’s equity framework.

Solomon Ekanem reports for Business Insider Africa that Gungubele made the comments at Bloomberg’s 2026 Africa Business Media Innovators gathering in Hermanus.

Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has not yet launched commercially in South Africa.

The government sees satellite broadband as a potential contributor to its efforts to expand connectivity, particularly in areas where conventional infrastructure remains limited.

The regulatory obstacle centres on South Africa’s requirement that individual telecommunications licence holders have at least 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups.

ICASA reaffirmed in May that the requirement remains part of the licensing framework. Starlink has argued that the ownership provision creates a barrier to entering the market.

As of June, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said ICASA had not received licence applications from Starlink covering spectrum, electronic communications networks or electronic communications services.

The government has been exploring Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes as a possible alternative for foreign companies.

Under such arrangements, qualifying firms could potentially meet transformation objectives through investments in infrastructure, skills development and local economic participation rather than transferring an equity stake.

However, the proposal has exposed a regulatory disagreement.

Malatsi has advocated recognition of EEIPs in telecommunications, while ICASA has maintained that fully incorporating such arrangements into the licensing system would require an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act.

Gungubele broadened the argument beyond ownership, saying multinational technology companies should contribute to developing local expertise rather than simply deploying foreign systems.

He argued that technological capability would become increasingly important for developing economies seeking greater resilience when international supply chains are disrupted.

For Starlink, the question therefore remains not only whether South Africa will permit its satellite network to operate, but under what regulatory and transformation conditions it could do so.