Malatsi confirms he has met with several stakeholders advocating for Low-Earth Orbit satellite Internet in SA

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All the satellite Internet companies, including Starlink, that met with South Africa's Communication Minister

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said that he has met with a number of stakeholders advocating for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite Internet in South Africa, including SpaceX's Starlink.

In a written reply to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, Khusela Diko, Malatsi said that the meetings with these firms were about gaining a better understanding of the sector.
 
I love the way this is framed as “Starlink has the right to sell its services to our citizens” when the benefit is clearly heavily favouring the citizens.
 
ThinkCentre said:
South Africa is desperately in the need for a LEO service like Starlink, but our government is dragging their feet giving the impression that they don't want it.
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Lining their pockets is the only mechanism for them to open a door. Ideology and money for them, they speak no other language despite our 12.
 
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ThinkCentre said:
South Africa is desperately in the need for a LEO service like Starlink, but our government is dragging their feet giving the impression that they don't want it.
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I actually think the government has sort of got it right with this one. There are plenty of options and so Starlink can get in line.
 
Sopbeen said:
Oh there is? Please list these options?

As far as I know, there is only one leo provider actually selling services in the world. The rest are all 'potential services' on paper. Comparing kak like "Yahclick" to Starlink is a big mistake.
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I already posted a list in the previous thread, they are a dime a dozen.
 
Nerfherder said:
I already posted a list in the previous thread, they are a dime a dozen.
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Soooo post it again? I don't know if you have noticed, but this is a forum with thousands of threads. Loads of threads about Starlink et al. Surely if the services are so ubiquitous then linking a wiki or similar would be easy.
 
Sopbeen said:
Soooo post it again? I don't know if you have noticed, but this is a forum with thousands of threads. Loads of threads about Starlink et al. Surely if the services are so ubiquitous then linking a wiki or similar would be easy.
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2 second google..


1. Amazon Project Kuiper
  • Orbit: LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
  • Overview: Amazon's upcoming broadband network is designed to rival Starlink by integrating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and relying on the Blue Origin rocket fleet for deployment. It targets both enterprise beta and commercial rollouts, and is actively setting up regional infrastructure across Africa. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Eutelsat OneWeb [1]
  • Orbit: LEO
  • Overview: Operating a constellation of over 600 satellites, OneWeb focuses primarily on enterprise, government, and maritime applications rather than consumer internet. In regions like South Africa, OneWeb operates legally through licensed enterprise partners such as SatComms. [1, 2, 3]
3. Traditional VSAT Providers (Viasat & HughesNet)
  • Orbit: GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit)
  • Overview: These providers use larger, fixed satellites stationed ~35,786 km above the equator. While they offer guaranteed uptime and SLA agreements for businesses, their higher altitude results in slower latency (≈600ms) compared to LEO services. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
4. Emerging Global Competitors
  • GuoWang (SpaceSail): China's state-backed mega-constellation aiming to deploy thousands of satellites to provide global broadband coverage.
  • IRIS²: A new European satellite infrastructure project spearheaded by major aerospace companies. [1, 2]
 
Nerfherder said:
2 second google..


1. Amazon Project Kuiper
  • Orbit: LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
  • Overview: Amazon's upcoming broadband network is designed to rival Starlink by integrating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and relying on the Blue Origin rocket fleet for deployment. It targets both enterprise beta and commercial rollouts, and is actively setting up regional infrastructure across Africa. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Eutelsat OneWeb [1]
  • Orbit: LEO
  • Overview: Operating a constellation of over 600 satellites, OneWeb focuses primarily on enterprise, government, and maritime applications rather than consumer internet. In regions like South Africa, OneWeb operates legally through licensed enterprise partners such as SatComms. [1, 2, 3]
3. Traditional VSAT Providers (Viasat & HughesNet)
  • Orbit: GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit)
  • Overview: These providers use larger, fixed satellites stationed ~35,786 km above the equator. While they offer guaranteed uptime and SLA agreements for businesses, their higher altitude results in slower latency (≈600ms) compared to LEO services. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
4. Emerging Global Competitors
  • GuoWang (SpaceSail): China's state-backed mega-constellation aiming to deploy thousands of satellites to provide global broadband coverage.
  • IRIS²: A new European satellite infrastructure project spearheaded by major aerospace companies. [1, 2]
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You seem to have poor comprehension.

Literally the only provider on that list that's even remotely close to competing with Starlink isn't even in business yet (It's Amazon LEO btw - hasn't been called Kuiper for a long time now).

VSAT isn't even in the same region with regards to service. They measure ping in seconds, not milliseconds. They offer extremely low FUP's (200GB lol) with extremely low speeds. It's also very expensive.

So, no. There is no one currently competing with Starlink. And as I stated, there is no other leo provider currently offering services. Please try again.
 
Sopbeen said:
You seem to have poor comprehension.

Literally the only provider on that list that's even remotely close to competing with Starlink isn't even in business yet (It's Amazon LEO btw - hasn't been called Kuiper for a long time now).

VSAT isn't even in the same region with regards to service. They measure ping in seconds, not milliseconds. They offer extremely low FUP's (200GB lol) with extremely low speeds. It's also very expensive.

So, no. There is no one currently competing with Starlink. And as I stated, there is no other leo provider currently offering services. Please try again.
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My point is that there is no hurry to issue a Starlink licence. They wont be the only option.

EDIT: Starlink want to control the market - that is why they are pushing. We don't need to help them.
 
Nerfherder said:
My point is that there is no hurry to issue a Starlink licence. They wont be the only option.
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Oh, so we're moving on to a different point/topic now.

It's going to be a loooooooong while before anybody gets close to Starlink in terms of coverage or service. They have almost 11,000 sats in orbit. Amazon is scratching at around 400. Starlink started their public beta (6 years ago) with 900 sats.

None of the other potential LEO candidates are even close to Amazon, never mind Starlink.
 
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