Amazon’s Leo satellite broadband service is coming to South Africa – and it has found a way in that sidesteps the licensing impasse that has kept rival Starlink out of the country.
Herotel, the Maziv-owned internet service provider and fibre/wireless network operator, has signed a distribution agreement with Amazon Leo, the e-commerce giant’s low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and will launch a new service called Evry to bring satellite broadband to homes and small businesses nationwide.
Commercial launch is expected in 2027, with customer registration open at evry.co.za.
Crucially, Amazon will not require its own licence from communications regulator Icasa. “Herotel will acquire all the necessary licensing to launch the service,” Trevor Vieweg, head of Amazon Leo’s global business, told TechCentral in a media briefing on Tuesday. Asked directly whether Amazon would need an Icasa licence, Vieweg said: “Herotel will be holding the licences in this agreement.”
The structure stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has been kept out of South Africa by a years-long standoff over rules requiring telecommunications licensees to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups – equity SpaceX has refused to cede.
First partner
Icasa said in a notice just last month that satellite operators cannot currently obtain the necessary network licences and that the realistic route into the market is through an existing licence holder.
Vieweg said the arrangement with Herotel is not exclusive. “They’re our first announced partner in South Africa… We do expect the market and demand is strong, so we will likely work with other partners,” he said.
Amazon has not yet launched commercial Leo services anywhere in the world. Vieweg said the company began deploying its initial constellation of more than 3 000 satellites in April 2025 and has completed 14 launches, with 390 satellites now in orbit – enough to begin initial service “in certain latitudes” later this year.
Read: Amazon’s long game in South Africa
South Africa, he said, will be “one of the earlier countries” to get the service, though he could not confirm whether it will be the first in Africa. Amazon has said it is investing more than US$10-billion in the constellation, which was known as Project Kuiper before being renamed last year.
Evry will offer download speeds of up to 300Mbit/s using Amazon’s Nano and Pro antennas. Vieweg said the Pro – the residential antenna – supports up to 400Mbit/s, while Amazon’s largest antenna, the Ultra, is capable of 1Gbit/s, though it does not form part of the initial Evry line-up.
Latency will typically be 50ms or less, he said – performance made possible by satellites orbiting at about 590km, versus 35 000km for traditional geostationary systems, linked by a high-speed optical mesh network in space. The system operates in the Ka frequency band, which Vieweg said gives it certain advantages over rivals.
Pricing has not been announced. “If you look at Amazon’s track record … we are very focused on making sure that these services are affordable,” Vieweg said. Herotel CEO Van Zyl Botha added: “We wouldn’t be sitting here if we didn’t think the product would be suitable for the local market.” Neither company would discuss the commercial terms of their agreement.
The deal has an intriguing subplot: Vodacom holds a 30% stake in Herotel parent Maziv, a transaction consummated in June after a three-year competition battle. Vodacom parent Vodafone, meanwhile, announced a partnership with the then-Project Kuiper in 2023. Asked where Vodacom fits in, Botha said he could not speak to the operator’s strategy but noted it is represented on the Maziv board. “As soon as we get the service up and running, we can work with anyone, or figure out the details when we get there,” he said.
For Herotel – one of South Africa’s largest fibre-to-the-home providers – the deal extends a model built on connecting areas outside the big metros since its founding in 2013 through the consolidation of more than 30 small ISPs.
Read: Icasa caught in the political crossfire over Starlink
“We have always believed that South Africans outside the major metros – whether on farms, in small towns, in townships or in rural communities – deserve reliable, affordable internet,” said Botha. “With Evry, powered by Amazon Leo, we will reach the customers that even fibre and fixed-wireless cannot serve.” — © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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