A week after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed Elon Muskโs SpaceX was in talks with the South African government about securing a licence for Starlink, the pair met again yesterday at the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.ย
In a brief press engagement after the closed-door meeting, Ramaphosa said it was a โgood meeting,โ offering a sliver of hope to South Africans waiting for Starlinkโs low-earth orbit internet service. Despite launching in neighbouring countries including Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Starlink is yet to be available in South Africa.
In early September, after Starlink launched in Zimbabwe, Musk posted on X, stating that the service was waiting for licence approval from South Africaโs regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). However, in a later media engagement, ICASA chairman Mothibi Ramusi confirmed that Starlink had not yet submitted any application.
Starlinkโs licensing troubles in South Africa and Elon Muskโs courting of President Ramaphosa bear semblance to how the service got licences in Zimbabwe and Botswana. In both countries, the licensing process had dragged on for more than a year as regulators pushed back with stringent requirements for the service.
However, following Starlink executivesโ engagement with President Emerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, the service was swiftly given licensing and subsequently launched in both countries.
Since ICASA is seemingly not budging on its requirements, Musk will be hoping to work the same magic with President Ramaphosa to bring Starlink to Africaโs most industrialised economy.