Best prices for Internet in the middle of nowhere

The most affordable uncapped satellite Internet package available in South Africa is priced at R764 per month and supports download speeds of 5Mbps.

However, like all current approved satellite Internet services in South Africa, this product comes with a tough fair usage policy (FUP) that severely throttles speeds after certain consumption.

Satellite Internet connectivity has been a hot topic in the global telecoms industry in recent years, largely thanks to advancements in low-earth orbit (LEO) connectivity.

LEO satellite fleets are able to support faster speeds, higher capacity, and lower latency as they orbit much closer to the Earth than geosynchronous (GEO) satellites.

Key to LEO development has been the growth and increased competition in the private space industry, which has made it much cheaper to launch payloads into orbit than in the past.

GEO services can achieve global coverage with three or four satellites, while LEOs need hundreds of satellites.

Advancements and cost reductions in cutting-edge phased-array and beam-forming technologies have also played a part in making LEO accessible to the masses.

While several companies are investing in the technology, the undisputed leader in the industry is SpaceX’s Starlink, which has roughly 7,000 satellites in operation — all launched with its own rockets.

The company has amassed over 5.3 million customers in 125 countries since launching publicly in a handful of countries in late 2020.

However, the company’s direct-to-consumer business model for its residential products has proven problematic in its quest to get approval in South Africa.

The Electronic Communications Act requires that telecoms licensees be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups, including black people, youth, women, and children with disabilities.

Another provision that has been suspended but could come into effect at any moment is that all licensees must be 30% owned by black people.

International companies doing business in South Africa often partner with a local BEE-accredited company to sell their products locally, but Starlink does not want to do this.

Armchair critics have questioned the need for Starlink in South Africa, considering the country’s healthy and extensive mobile connectivity industry, as well as alternative wireless Internet products.

Many argue that Starlink is only useful for countries that don’t have other broadband options — including other African countries.

The most widely available form of connectivity is mobile Internet. 4G connectivity is the minimum standard required to support speeds sufficient for modern online applications.

Vodacom and MTN have covered 99% of South Africa’s population with 4G coverage.

However, the remaining 1% of the 63.2 million people estimated to be living in South Africa in 2023 is 632,000 — not an insignificant number.

While mobile networks have made commendable efforts to reach the underconnected, there are many locations where rolling out cellular towers makes no financial or operational sense.

Doing so requires significant capital expenditure with little return on investment. In addition, towers in remote areas in South Africa are soft targets for theft and vandalism.

Fixed-wireless access services using unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum like Herotel Wireless and Rush Networks are an alternative option in some locations.

However, they tend to be more readily available in areas with smaller populations than in towns but not sparsely populated areas.

Starlink’s local appeal is demonstrated by the fact that it has many users in South Africa who are willing to pay expensive fees for its equipment and high roaming charges to access the service.

Bush lodges, researchers, mobile health clinics, and mines are among the businesses that have found the service to be a game-changer for remote connectivity.

Many have lamented going back to their old service provider if the Starlink roaming service would be blocked in South Africa.

What Starlink roaming money gets from approved satellite services in South Africa

MyBroadband compared the prices of Internet services resold through licensed telecoms providers to see how their offerings stacked up to Starlink.

For reference, Starlink roaming users in South Africa with accounts registered in Eswatini are paying R1,900 per month, while those in Mozambique are paying 6,000 metical (R1,810).

That price comes with an uncapped connection supporting download speeds well over 100Mbps and uploads of around 20Mbps. Starlink does not impose an FUP in uncongested areas and its latency is now below 100ms in South Africa.

For roughly the same price as Eswatini-linked roaming users, South Africans in remote areas can get a Vox package running on Eutelsat’s GEO network with up to a 20Mbps download speed and 3Mbps uploads, and latency of 700ms.

This package has a R999 installation fee on a 12-month or 24-month contract and comes with an FUP that throttles speeds to 5Mbps after the first 200GB consumption in a month and 2Mbps after 300GB usage.

There are many satellite packages available for much less than Starlink Roaming. However, all have stringent FUPs and are only available on long-term contracts.

The package closest to Starlink’s offering in terms of speed and FUP is a Vox/Eutelsat product boasting 50Mbps downloads and 10Mbps uploads for R3,807 per month.

The table below compares the prices and speeds of legal Internet services available in South Africa with Starlink Roaming.