South Africa isn’t the only country in Southern Africa where Elon Musk is facing pushback over the licensing of Starlink.
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Elon Musk has drawn an angry response for claiming Starlink is “not allowed to operate in South Africa because I’m not black”.
Geopolitical developments have raised the prospect of OneWeb satellites replacing Elon Musk’s Starlink in Ukraine.
Regulation and government policies have hampered the growth of coverage across South Africa. This needs to change.
Elon Musk’s Starlink communications network is facing increasingly stiff challenges to its dominance of high-speed satellite internet.
Talks to license Starlink in South Africa have reportedly stalled over tensions with the Donald Trump administration in the US.
After failing to show up on Wednesday, SpaceX has now formally “withdrawn its interest” in presenting to the regulator.
Starlink is already “sold out” in many African cities, including Nairobi, Lusaka and Harare.
Industry body ACT has told Icasa that the satellite licensing regime should not benefit some players over others.
Elon Musk has waded into South African politics just as SpaceX is seeking a licence to operate in the country.