Starlink getting mobile spectrum in the US
SpaceX, the Elon Musk-backed company that owns the Starlink satellite internet network, agreed to acquire wireless spectrum from EchoStar Corp. for about $17 billion (R297 billion), allowing Charlie Ergen’s beleaguered telecommunications company to...
Starship deploys satellites in 10th test flight
SpaceX’s Starship rocket launched to space and deployed satellites for the first time before surviving most of its journey to Earth, achieving new technological milestones after a year of fiery setbacks.
The mission secured a much-needed win for...
Starlink in talks with major Middle East airlines over Wi-Fi services
For the past three years, Elon Musk has steadily elbowed his way into the booming market for in-flight Wi-Fi, with his Starlink service signing up blue-chip carriers from Air France to Qatar Airways to United Airlines...
Communications department prioritising rule review that could enable Starlink launch
South Africa is prioritising a policy-review process that may result in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other satellite Internet companies being allowed to operate in Africa’s largest economy without ceding ownership...
Trump issues executive order to ease rocket launch regulations
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to ease regulations for the commercial space industry, including steps to speed the licensing process for rocket launches in a win for the growing sector and onetime ally...
Starlink offers R500-million free school Internet for approval in South Africa
Elon Musk's SpaceX has committed to spending R500 million to provide free broadband Internet to schools in South Africa, a proposed investment to gain local approval for Starlink.
The planned investment was revealed...
FlySafair explains interest in Starlink
FlySafair still wants to offer modern onboard Wi-Fi for passengers on its domestic flights despite a setback in approving the local launch of the leading provider of such services — SpaceX's Starlink.
In an interview for Sunday Times, the low-cost...
EU wants to build its own Starlink
The European Union is committing to build a €10.6 billion (R199.23-billion) constellation of satellites that will provide the bloc with encrypted global internet connectivity in a bid to provide a homegrown alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The EU on...
Starship's 5th launch delayed by "absurd" FAA
SpaceX is openly criticising what it sees as unacceptable delays in the licensing process for the next launch of its Starship rocket, saying US government approval is going to take months longer than it originally expected.
In a lengthy update...
Starlink goes live in Zim
SpaceX's fast and uncapped satellite Internet service Starlink has officially launched in Zimbabwe.
South Africa's northern neighbour is the 14th African country to get the service, with the most recent other additions being Botswana, South Sudan, and Sierra Leone.
All the legal fights Elon Musk and his companies are up against
Elon Musk and his companies are embroiled in dozens of lawsuits, ranging from fatal crashes blamed on Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot system to civil rights complaints over the treatment of employees.
Tesla’s board and Musk were hit...
Starlink approved in Botswana
Botswana granted a license to SpaceX’s Starlink unit, the latest African nation to allow the Internet services company to operate after it threatened to restrict services where it’s unlicensed.
Regulators in the southern African nation were asked to fast-track...
Starsat Africa halting all services
An unauthorised Starlink reseller, which at one point claimed to have supplied around 12,000 South African customers with kits for the low-Earth orbit satellite service, is halting all services due to "ongoing market instability".
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Zimbabwean minister's son arrested for using Starlink
A Zimbabwe politician’s son was arrested on charges of illegally possessing a Starlink terminal, a sign of the risks in countries where the SpaceX technology isn’t licensed.
Neville Mutsvangwa, the son of of women’s affairs and community...
Starlink roaming still working in SA
Despite warnings that their connections would go dark from 30 April 2024, numerous Starlink roaming users in South Africa still have access to the company's roaming service.
The fast and uncapped Internet service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX first started...
Seacom now offering enterprise LEO satellite connectivity
Submarine cable network operator and managed connectivity service provider Seacom has launched a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite service for its enterprise clients in South Africa.
The company said the service marked an "evolutionary"...
Starlink starts blocking roaming in Zimbabwe
SpaceX's broadband satellite Internet service Starlink has warned users in Zimbabwe that it will disable their roaming services upon request from the country's communications regulator.
Like South Africa, Zimbabwe does not yet officially support...
SpaceX accuses Italy's biggest mobile network of blocking Starlink
Elon Musk’s Starlink is claiming that its rollout of high-speed internet in Italy is being obstructed by the country’s largest phone carrier, with possible repercussions for its services across southern Europe and northern...
How Starlink could help make Internet cable breaks irrelevant
The ability of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet service to transmit data packets between its fleet of satellites makes it capable of circumventing undersea cable breaks.
This feature could soon also be supported on other satellite...
Elon Musk's Starlink thriving in global black market
SpaceX’s Starlink touts its high-speed internet as “available almost anywhere on Earth.”
In the real world, its reach extends to countries where Elon Musk’s satellite-enabled service has no agreement to operate, including territories ruled...