Interest in low-earth-orbit satellite Internet service by StarLink has grown globally and across the continent, especially in Kenya. But in countries where regulatory hurdles discourage licensing, users have been buying Starlink kits and hopping on its roaming plan as a workaround.
This loophole has allowed users in certain African countries where Starlink hasn’t been licensed to operate to still use the satellite internet service from SpaceX after importing its kits and using its roaming service which allowed for a 60-day use when connected outside its original country of purchase. Starlink has now removed this service across Africa.
It’s worth noting that Starlink is licensed in very few countries in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Benin, Malawi, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
Users in South Africa where Starlink hasn’t been licensed have been using its roaming service after registering their subscriptions in its neighboring countries.
With the roaming limit in place, users in South Africa had to travel to the neighboring countries to access this service once the 60 days were over. This is going to be impossible as Starlink has removed the roaming option for countries in Africa.
Users in South Africa will now have to wait till Starlink’s official launch date is set – it has been unknown for the past two years. The country’s new regulations are unique as they state that to get a telecom license to operate in that country, you need to have 30% ownership by persons from HDPs(historically disadvantaged groups) according to The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa(Icasa).
South Africa’s Communications minister Solly Malatsi recently shared his plans to direct Icasa to consider equity equivalent programs, paving the way for SpaceX’s Starlink to launch in South Africa. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa has also urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to invest in his birthplace when he met him in New York last month.
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