LEO satellite operator Starlink appears to have had a pretty good week or two in Africa, with licence awards in Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia making headlines. But it isn’t quite as simple as that.
Lesotho has indeed offered the satellite service, owned by space launch provider SpaceX, a ten-year operating permit. In fact Starlink applied for a licence in April 2024. However, the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) has said that, at the time, it recognised that its existing licensing and classification framework required enhancement to adequately accommodate low-earth orbit satellite technology. Hence there was a delay; the changes were completed on 31 January 2025.
Guinea-Bissau’s National Regulatory Authority for Information and Communication Technologies (ARN-TIC) officially approved Starlink last week. The country suffers frequent service outages which satellite-based connectivity may be well placed to compensate for, if users can afford it.
The same, it seems, goes for Somalia, where the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Somalia has officially granted an operational license to Starlink, enabling the satellite internet provider to commence services across the country.
South African approval has been less straightforward. Regulator ICASA has suggested that Starlink has never submitted an application for a licence. If it wants to operate in South Africa, Starlink needs to obtain network and service licences, which both require 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups.
Starlink owner Elon Musk has made it clear he doesn’t approve of the policy, accusing the South African authorities (on his social media platform X) of racism. And Starlink, in a written submission to ICASA, has said that black empowerment provisions in legislation excluded ‘many’ foreign satellite operators from the South African market. The foreign ministry has responded that more than 600 US companies, including computing giant Microsoft, were operating in South Africa in compliance with its laws.
The fact that Musk is close to the US President has complicated matters. Donald Trump has weighed in with angry comments about laws passed earlier this year potentially allowing the South African government to seize property in some cases without compensation.
But US government policy has also become part of some discussions in the context of satellite services. The 10-year licence award to Starlink came after President Trump imposed a 50% tariff on imports from Lesotho, though this has now been paused and a 10% tariff effected. In any case, Lesotho denies any connection.
There have also been complaints about the lack of local ownership in Lesotho. In fact during public consultations over Starlink’s application, operator Vodacom Lesotho had argued that Mr Musk’s company should establish local shareholding before receiving a licence.
It’s also been claimed that Starlink is seeking an exemption in Namibia from the requirement to bring in a local partner; businesses operating in Namibia need to be 51% locally owned.
Back in South Africa, the government has received some support from businesses operating there. Vodacom South Africa has said it supports the enforcement of 30% ownership (Black Economic Empowerment) laws. However, another reason for the government to stick to its guns is that exempting Starlink might cause some overseas firms to demand exemptions.
Is some sort of compromise likely? South Africa could be a lucrative market for satcoms services and satcoms could be useful for rural areas. Thus, it could prove helpful for both Starlink and the government to reach some sort of compromise.
To date, Starlink is operating in more than 20 African countries.
