South Africa seizes Starlink equipment

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa’s) investigation into Starlink distributor IcasaSePush has resulted in authorities confiscating the company’s equipment.

Icasa chair Mothibi Ramusi told Newzroom Afrika that the regulator had conducted an investigation in the Northern Cape and had written to SpaceX to confirm that its services were being used in South Africa.

“Upon hearing all these issues, we actually went out on an investigation in the Northern Cape. We confiscated equipment which related to SpaceX, the company that owns Starlink,” said Ramusi.

“Anyone found in this country providing a service without the required authority, it’s illegal. So, this company, IcasaSePush, has been providing equipment, and obviously, they have a commercial agreement with SpaceX.”

However, it should be noted that IcasaSePush doesn’t operate out of the Northern Cape, but rather out of Centurion in Gauteng.

The Icasa chair may be referring to competing Starlink distributors StarSat Africa or IT-Lec, which the regulator had already instructed to shut down at different stages in the recent past.

In feedback to MyBroadband, IcasaSePush said none of its equipment has been confiscated. It also doesn’t have a commercial agreement with SpaceX.

Ramusi explained that, in addition to requiring a licence to operate, companies distributing devices such as those required for Starlink require type approval for the equipment.

“When you’ve got equipment that you need to provide services as an institution, that’s where you start in terms of getting certification,” said Ramusi.

“In this instance, we’re dealing with those two things. It’s somebody using technology that is not type approved, and utilising a satellite that requires certification from Icasa.”

IcasaSePush had not received type approval for the Starlink equipment it was distributing, which was therefore confiscated.

The chair said Icasa has written to SpaceX on 21 May 2025 to get confirmation regarding claims that people were using Starlink illegally in South Africa.

“SpaceX has since responded. They’ve indicated to us that they’ve now instructed the company IcasaSePush to cease operating and distributing any equipment aligned to their business,” he stated.

IcasaSePush told MyBroadband that this also isn’t the case. While it regularly receives cease and desist letters from SpaceX, these relate to trademark violations and not its distribution of Starlink services.

Because of these cease-and-desist letters, IcasaSePush does not refer to Starlink by name on its website.

Starlink shutdown in South Africa

Ramusi also mentioned the recent Starlink shutdown in South Africa, with the satellite Internet service starting to cut off people in South Africa using its roaming plans.

It gave users two options: cancel the service or access it from an authorised country where Starlink has been allowed to launch.

Starlink began emailing its Roam Unlimited and Global Roaming plans to notify them that their service had been suspended.

“You are currently using Starlink in an unauthorised territory. As a result, your service will be suspended effective immediately,” the email stated.

“As outlined in your Terms of Service, Starlink availability depends on many factors, including obtaining or maintaining the necessary regulatory approvals, which are subject to change.”

It added that it would inform users as soon as it receives regulatory approvals to turn on Starlink services in South Africa.

Starlink’s coverage map still shows “service date is unknown at this time” for South Africa.

People living in the country have been able to use the Starlink roaming service as a workaround to the lack of official support for nearly two and a half years.

Starlink’s roaming plans are significantly more expensive than its normal residential services. However, it still provides unmatched speeds and latency in uncapped broadband connectivity in deeply remote areas.

The roaming service remained accessible even after Icasa warned South Africans in November 2023 that using or distributing it was “illegal.”

Last week, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications “invited” communications minister Solly Malatsi to attend a meeting, where MPs grilled him for two hours.

Among the accusations was that Malatsi was trying to give Starlink a backdoor to entry into South Africa.

An MK Party member, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, also highlighted that people were already unlawfully using and selling the service in South Africa.

Ndhlela went so far as to accuse unofficial Starlink kit distributor IcasaSePush of being a covert operation of Starlink itself.