Malatsi wants answers about slow progress on rules that will allow Starlink to launch in South Africa
Communications minister Solly Malatsi has said he will engage the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa to understand why it has made little progress on his May 2025 policy direction.
The minister’s policy direction instructed the regulator to align its rules with the full scope of the BEE ICT Sector Code.
This would include the recognition of equity-equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) in the ICT sector, enabling operators such as SpaceX’s Starlink to acquire licences in South Africa.
While the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (ICASA) Annual Performance Plan for 2026/27 mentioned the policy directive, it set no related performance indicators.
When asked about this, Malatsi told MyBroadband that he would engage with ICASA, through which he expects to receive reasons for the lack of sufficient detail in the policy direction.
“The law is clear that ICASA must consider the policy direction, and the expectation is that it must happen within a reasonable time,” the minister said.
“The consideration of the policy direction cannot continue in perpetuity.”
Currently, operators must be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups (HDGs) to qualify for licences to operate a network and offer telecommunications services nationally.
Malatsi has proposed amending this requirement so that EEIPs can be recognised as an alternative to HDG ownership rules for telecommunication licences in South Africa.
His department recently doubled down on the proposal in a statement announcing his approval for the extension of Dell’s EEIP application in South Africa.
According to Malatsi’s department, South Africa has reached a pivotal moment, with high youth unemployment, a growing digital skills gap, and persistent systemic barriers faced by small businesses.
“EEIPs are a legally recognised pathway for investment in South Africa for companies that do not have local shareholding,” it said.
It added that EEIPs ensure inclusion by allowing foreign firms to invest in the country while committing to broader empowerment goals through a series of measurable outcomes.
These can include outcomes relating to enterprise development, job creation, and doing business with SMMEs.
New rules for satellite Internet operators in South Africa
While ICASA’s performance plan lacked sufficient detail on Malatsi’s policy direction, it did explain that it was working on a new licensing framework for satellite Internet operators.
It specifically named Starlink, which has refused to launch locally because of South Africa’s current 30% HDG ownership requirement to qualify for telecommunications licences.
Starlink said that it supports transformation and would, as a start, supply 5,000 rural schools with free broadband worth R500 million to comply with future EEIP requirements.
ICASA said it was developing the framework to address the widening digital divide in remote parts of the country and to encourage investment.
“The goal is to create a transparent, efficient, and sustainable regulatory environment that fosters investment, competition, and the expansion of satellite services,” the regulator said.
It explained that the new framework aimed to increase access to Internet connectivity in rural areas of South Africa and reduce cross-border communication costs.
“Newer ICT technologies and infrastructure are needed in the rural, remote, and underserved areas to mitigate the widening of the digital divide,” it said, listing satellite operators as a possible solution.
“ICASA will monitor the impact of satellite-based services and their potential role in providing more affordable cross-border communications.”
ICASA said the framework’s development was a multi-year project with set completion goals. It initiated the process in 2025/26 and received Council approval.
It said this represents 75% of the total process. The remaining steps will be concluded in the 2026/27 financial year when the “Final Satellite Regulation” is approved.
Its next step will be conducting public hearings on the draft final regulations — the final step before the regulations are approved in the fourth quarter of 2026/27.
However, these regulations are unrelated to Malatsi’s policy direction which instructed the regulator to align its regulations with the full scope of the BEE ICT Sector Code.
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