Govt considers benefit of entities such as Starlink
South Africa’s government continues to consider the potential benefits of enhanced attraction of investment, job creation and competition that entities such as Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink can bring to South Africa, said Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi.
In line with this, and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ aim of lowering regulatory hurdles to investment in cheap, reliable broadband, the Minister plans to issue a policy directive to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), in terms of Section 3(2) of the Electronic Communications Act, to clarify the department’s position on the recognition of equity equivalent programmes for urgent consideration.
South African authorities have drawn criticism for clamping down on companies operating Starlink’s service in South Africa, after Icasa issued a formal government notice on November 28, 2023, declaring that using Starlink locally is illegal, as it does not have an operating licence in the country.
However, Starlink itself has not submitted any application to Icasa for consideration, he said in response to a parliamentary question.
Starlink is required to apply for Individual Electronic Communications Service and Individual Electronic Network Service licences to offer services in South Africa, which outlines that licence applicants need to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged communities.
In December 2022, Starlink had put its potential launch in the country on hold indefinitely.
Despite this, Starlink kits have been imported into the country through companies that import and activate Starlink’s regional roaming services for South Africans.
“Policy clarity on the recognition of equity equivalence schemes has long been sought by players in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. This will provide the certainty necessary to attract increased investment in ICT and accelerate universal internet access.”
After consultation with Icasa, the proposed policy direction will be published for comment.
“This is in line with the Codes of Good Practice which recognise that the global nature of their operations may constrain multinationals in their ability to comply with equity ownership requirements. Equity equivalents, recognised in other sectors, provide an avenue for factoring in alternative ways for companies to make an impact on South Africa’s socioeconomic development,” Malatsi said.
His comments followed Icasa’s move to review satellite operations in South Africa.
On August 14, Icasa issued a gazette outlining its intention to conduct an inquiry into the licensing framework for satellite services.
Stakeholders have until November 12 to comment.
The ‘Consultation on the proposed new Licensing Framework for Satellite Services’ aims to determine a regulatory and/or licensing framework for satellite services in South Africa, as well as the procedures that the authority may implement for the provision of satellite services in South Africa and the procedures for registration of international satellite operators intending to provide a service either directly or indirectly, through existing licensed operators, to South African consumers.
It also aims to determine procedures for authorising user terminals, Internet of Things terminals, earth station user terminals communicating with space station while in motion, or ESIM/ESV, and ground earth stations in South African territory.
The authority will also consider the need to review spectrum fees, taking into account the increasing amount of bandwidth used by satellite systems operating in higher frequency bands.
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