Icasa and SAPS in apparent failed raid on IT-Lec offices

[Jan]

Police and Icasa pay visit to former South African Starlink importer

A small Internet service provider (ISP) in the Northern Cape endured an intimidating visit by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and a cohort of police officers last week.

A source familiar with the matter told MyBroadband that four Icasa officials had pitched up at IT-Lec's offices in Upington without notice at around noon on Thursday, 28 September 2023.

 

[Enzo Matrix]

Jisis

I hope they sue them to mordor and back

 

[Tman*]

Glad to see SAPS is enforcing BEE

 

[Enzo Matrix]

Pretty much butthurt icasa with a saps connection playing bullies on the playground

 

[ttygt]

You mean ICSUCKSA is not just an office somewhere, smelling like chicken, with a label printer.

 

[Cranjus McBasketball]

I guess no one told them that only the government is allowed to do sketchy **** (unless the government can benefit from it)

 

[B-1]

Big egos swinging little sticks.

 

[r00igev@@r]

SpaceX needs do business at the Saxonworld Shebeen where the ownership is 100% foreign and the cadres still flock in.

 

[FiestaST]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709261122421805534

 

[Swa]

I see they've finished cleaning up the mines from zama zamas.

 

[Petec]

Seriously, fusk ISUCKSA to hell and back.
Them, and their mobile lobbyists, need to gtfo.
We are losing a bill a day to load shedding, yet these butthurt babies can get their shite together to hassle a company trying to help SA into the digital age?
Jesus wept.

 

[CommonSense]

Lets be serious here. Whether ICASA is right or wrong is besides the point.

There are regulations in place - sometimes for good reasons. I mean we all want equipment to have a certain standard and be certain that the equipment will not cause unforeseen issues with other systems.
If you for instance have a licensed radio link for connectivity between high-sites, then you don't want some d1ck to put up an unlicensed radio link and affect your business. (Just an example and not referring to Starlink - just a reason why regulations are a good thing). A lot of the regulations came from pre-1994 in any case.

And sometimes those same good regulations can be abused by government to further their aims, like the ANC government does a lot.

To be in business and be ignorant of those regulations and still wanting to do things which goes against those is just plain stupid and looking for trouble.
Throwing your customers who bought the system from you (by naming them) under the bus in the process and then claiming to NOT want to throw MTN under the bus is also a bit rich in my view.

If you want to do things which is technically fine, but legally troublesome if caught, then you DO NOT go broadcasting it over the place with articles in tech websites.
You keep things on the down low and word of mouth only.

But the above is what a lot of "dubious businesses who gets tenders" does too and the MyBB community is then also quick to have outrage. The same rules and consequences must apply to all.

A clever thing in our country would have been to create a company and have get some BEE investment into it solely for the purpose of selling Starlink. Seperate from your other company. Win-win for everyone. It is the reality of business in SA. Learn the game and you can make a living. Flout the rules and then cry if you are caught.

 

[lordnokon]

Big egos swinging little sticks.

I think you meant little d!ck$

 

[zolly]

Flout the rules

Problem is the rules are bullshit. BEE is basically = ensure part of your business goes to ANC connected person.

 

[zolly]

There are regulations in place - sometimes for good reasons.

Yes, but as far as any of us know, there is currently no problem's caused by using the Starlink service, regardless of how legal the usage is in the country.

 

[Sapphiron]

Lets be serious here. Whether ICASA is right or wrong is besides the point.

There are regulations in place - sometimes for good reasons. I mean we all want equipment to have a certain standard and be certain that the equipment will not cause unforeseen issues with other systems.
If you for instance have a licensed radio link for connectivity between high-sites, then you don't want some d1ck to put up an unlicensed radio link and affect your business. (Just an example and not referring to Starlink - just a reason why regulations are a good thing). A lot of the regulations came from pre-1994 in any case.

And sometimes those same good regulations can be abused by government to further their aims, like the ANC government does a lot.

To be in business and be ignorant of those regulations and still wanting to do things which goes against those is just plain stupid and looking for trouble.
Throwing your customers who bought the system from you (by naming them) under the bus in the process and then claiming to NOT want to throw MTN under the bus is also a bit rich in my view.

If you want to do things which is technically fine, but legally troublesome if caught, then you DO NOT go broadcasting it over the place with articles in tech websites.
You keep things on the down low and word of mouth only.

But the above is what a lot of "dubious businesses who gets tenders" does too and the MyBB community is then also quick to have outrage. The same rules and consequences must apply to all.

A clever thing in our country would have been to create a company and have get some BEE investment into it solely for the purpose of selling Starlink. Seperate from your other company. Win-win for everyone. It is the reality of business in SA. Learn the game and you can make a living. Flout the rules and then cry if you are caught.

Sometimes you have to ignore the rules so you can do the right thing.

 

[s0lar]

Lets be serious here. Whether ICASA is right or wrong is besides the point.

There are regulations in place - sometimes for good reasons. I mean we all want equipment to have a certain standard and be certain that the equipment will not cause unforeseen issues with other systems.

Type approval made sense way back in the day when people where plugging stuff into POTS. Now days, little relevance.

The rest. tl;dr

 

[lkpat]

...and ICASA officials left disappointed that ITLec had no more Starlink kits for them and their families.

 

[lkpat]

Lets be serious here. Whether ICASA is right or wrong is besides the point.

There are regulations in place - sometimes for good reasons. I mean we all want equipment to have a certain standard and be certain that the equipment will not cause unforeseen issues with other systems.
If you for instance have a licensed radio link for connectivity between high-sites, then you don't want some d1ck to put up an unlicensed radio link and affect your business. (Just an example and not referring to Starlink - just a reason why regulations are a good thing). A lot of the regulations came from pre-1994 in any case.

Throwing your customers who bought the system from you (by naming them) under the bus in the process and then claiming to NOT want to throw MTN under the bus is also a bit rich in my view.

Where did you get that from?

If you want to do things which is technically fine, but legally troublesome if caught, then you DO NOT go broadcasting it over the place with articles in tech websites.
You keep things on the down low and word of mouth only.

You've just spent the first half of your post talking about rules being for good reasons and how ignorance is not bliss, now you're saying they should have just done it quietly. That's a bit rich.

A clever thing in our country would have been to create a company and have get some BEE investment into it solely for the purpose of selling Starlink. Seperate from your other company. Win-win for everyone.

How exactly is that going to get around ICASA?

 

[ToxicBunny]

I'd be tempted to get starlink just as a minor fsck you to icasa at this point actually.