Clarifying Starlink misconceptions in South Africa

Daniel Puchert

Daniel Puchert

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All the little lies about Starlink in South Africa

SpaceX's uncapped satellite Internet service Starlink could be of huge benefit for many South African households and businesses in rural areas and is not an expensive Internet solution compared to competing services.

In the past few weeks, MyBroadband has noticed a surge in comments online downplaying the potential benefit of Starlink's service and arguing against its launch in South Africa.
 
X user comments. Enough said. Can't wait for the site formerly known as Twitter to collapse under Musk's ego.
 
So the journalists searched X for "Star Link SA" and discovered misconceptions and lies!

What will they find on this forum ? BS, sarcasm and illegal memes !
 
“The only difference with Starlink would be significantly faster download speeds. It’s not a wow thing we need,” they said.
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Idiots.

Also the idiots do not even consider the useless upload speeds of traditional satellite making it near useless. We have not even discussed how unreliable it is as most of the time it delivers way less than the useless speeds it already promise.

Starlink is a game changer for those living in towns in the middle of nowhere or in places where corruption has halted any hope of better infrastructure.
 
I imagine it'd be great for the construction/mining/engineering industry as well. Get connected pretty fast where there's no other infrastructure yet.

God I hated the days I had to work with multiple providers to get a link set up from out in the sticks back to corporate. And VSAT was usually horrible.
 
Bobbin said:
I imagine it'd be great for the construction/mining/engineering industry as well. Get connected pretty fast where there's no other infrastructure yet.

God I hated the days I had to work with multiple providers to get a link set up from out in the sticks back to corporate. And VSAT was usually horrible.
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100% one of the major use cases would be construction sites. Drop a container office + Starlink and you are styling.
 

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It's so obvious that there is a major campaign going on behind the scenes by various vested interests to lobby the government to block Starlink in South Africa. I'll leave it the imagination as to who these vested interests are, but I think we can all guess who it is.
 
People in rural areas (e.g. farmers) that rely on the internet will definitively benefit. No more issues such as stolen equipment at cellphone and other wireless providers' towers. This is a huge issue in rural areas, not to mention areas with no providers even being available.
 
Praeses said:
People in rural areas (e.g. farmers) that rely on the internet will definitively benefit. No more issues such as stolen equipment at cellphone and other wireless providers' towers. This is a huge issue in rural areas, not to mention areas with no providers even being available.
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You have to wonder what the motivations are behind these people advocating against Starlink launching in South Africa. Nobody is forcing them to use it and it has absolutely no effect on their daily lives so why should it bother them so much if Starlink launches?
 
deweyzeph said:
You have to wonder what the motivations are behind these people advocating against Starlink launching in South Africa. Nobody is forcing them to use it and it has absolutely no effect on their daily lives so why should it bother them so much if Starlink launches?
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Obviously they are being paid, or "motivated" by those with vested interests ...
 
elf_lord_ZC5 said:
Obviously they are being paid, or "motivated" by those with vested interests ...
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Yip, it's utterly bizarre that something so obviously beneficial for South Africa is being badmouthed on social media by anonymous people who either don't know what they're talking about or have who raise objections that make no sense whatsoever.

All 3 of the misconceptions raised in the article are things that are inconsequential if you choose not to use Starlink and just carry on with your life.

Too expensive? Fine then don't use it. Nobody is saying you must, but there are plenty of people who can afford it and want it.

Existing broadband is good enough? Well good for you, but that is objectively a lie, and nobody is stopping you from using existing broadband options.

Offers no economic benefit? This is the most outrageous lie of them all. Maybe no economic benefit to the existing vested interests that are scared of competition, but for average South Africans who can afford it living in rural areas with no broadband options at all this is the lifesaver they've been waiting for. And again, even this were true, so what? If it truly offers no economic benefit then what difference does it make to those objecting to it?
 
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