• ICASA has issued a call for comment as part of an inquiry into the licensing framework for satellite services in South Africa.
• This will include considerations about spectrum allocation, registration processes and more.
• Comments must be submitted by 12th November.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has stoked the hopes of those waiting for Starlink to officially arrive in South Africa.

On Wednesday the Authority published a notice of its intent to conduct an inquiry into the licensing framework for satellite services in South Africa, such as Starlink.

The purpose of inquiry is to determine the procedures and regulations that need to be put in place in order to allow satellite services to operate locally. This includes setting out “procedures for authorising user terminals, IoT terminals, earth station user terminals communicating with space station while
in motion (ESIM/ESV), and ground earth stations in the South African territory.”

Part of this process will include the need to review spectrum fees as well as the bandwidth satellite services require. South Africa has a long, messy history when it comes to spectrum allocation and adding satellite internet to that mix is already dampening our spirits. This is because it can take years for industry players, government and its regulators to agree on how the available spectrum will be assigned.

Another key goal of this inquiry is setting up the procedures for registration of international satellite operators in South Africa. Starlink, as an example, isn’t available in South Africa is because it would be required to comply with broad-based black economic empowerment regulations, something it has reportedly refused to do. Whether the procedures ICASA settles on would change that remains to be seen.

The Authority has said that, “Interested persons and parties are hereby invited to submit written representations, including an electronic version of the representation in Microsoft Word, of their views on the proposed new licensing framework for Satellite Services by no later than 16h00 on 12 November 2024.”

Submissions can be hand-delivered to ICASA’s offices at the address below:

350 Witch-Hazel Avenue, Eco Point Office
Park Eco Park, Centurion
South Africa

Alternatively, submissions can be mailed to:

Private Bag X10,
Highveld Park 0169
Centurion, Pretoria,
Marked for the attention of:
Mr. Mandla Mchunu

Or, finally, you can simply email comment to satlicensing[at]icasa[dot]org[dot]za.

With all of that out of the way, we need to bring up something important – price.

While satellite internet can bring internet connectivity to remote areas and rural areas without internet infrastructure, it’s a costly purchase. The hardware needed to connect to the satellite costs £299 (R6 924) in the UK and then you also need to pay a monthly connection fee of £75 (~R1 737). Anyway you slice it that’s a lot of money and not exactly making access more affordable.

With that said, more options for connectivity that increases competition – especially locally where the stalwarts dominate the market – is good news.