SpaceX’s Starlink is moving closer to launching its satellite Internet service in South Africa — with plans to invest nearly R2 billion in local infrastructure and create a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) entity to meet the country’s licensing requirements.
Starlink’s market access senior director, Ryan Goodnight, revealed details of the company’s South African expansion during the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) annual general meeting this week. According to reports from MyBroadband, recordings from the session later leaked to the media are legitimate.
Goodnight explained that Starlink intends to collaborate with local Internet service providers (ISPs) to install and maintain school internet infrastructure on an open-access basis.
“This is part of a broader R500-million equity equivalent programme designed to provide high-speed connectivity to thousands of South African schools,” Goodnight said.
He added that the investment could provide 2.4 million learners with broadband access — a major step toward bridging the country’s persistent digital divide.
Regulatory Barriers and Policy Shifts
Currently, South African telecommunications law requires that companies seeking a network or service licence be at least 30% owned by historically disadvantaged individuals.
This ownership rule has been a significant barrier for foreign tech companies, including SpaceX, whose global corporate structure makes such equity arrangements complex.
However, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi announced in May 2025 a new policy direction proposing Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) as an alternative compliance route to the 30% ownership requirement.
Malatsi’s plan, which has been endorsed by Cabinet and President Cyril Ramaphosa, aims to allow multinational telecom firms to meet empowerment goals through infrastructure investment, skills development, or community upliftment projects instead of direct equity transfers.
“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 stated.
The minister believes the new policy will encourage investment, boost competition, and accelerate broadband rollout in underserved areas.
Political Pushback
Not everyone supports Malatsi’s proposal. Some Members of Parliament have accused the minister of tailoring the policy to benefit Starlink specifically, arguing that it creates an uneven playing field.
Khusela Diko, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Communications and Digital Technologies, was among the most vocal critics.
“It’s clear that this is part of what I believe is an agenda largely driven by the Democratic Alliance and its reactionary partners,” Diko 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.”
Despite the criticism, industry observers say Starlink’s planned R2-billion investment and the creation of a local BBBEE company could be transformative for South Africa’s connectivity landscape, especially in rural and under-connected regions.
If approved, the move could make Starlink one of the most significant private investors in South Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure in recent years.
