Ten African countries get Starlink before South Africa

Starlink has confirmed that the low Earth orbit satellite service is now available in Madagascar, making it the tenth country on the continent to gain access before South Africa.

Of the African countries with Starlink access, Madagascar has the most affordable hardware, costing MGA 1,120,000 (R4,549). It is also offering an early adopter promotion for 29% off until 13 July.

Zambia had been the cheapest so far at ZMW 8,000 (R5,569).

The shipping and handling comes in at MGA 109,000 (R443), and a monthly roaming subscription costs MGA 451,200 (R1,833).

This is on the more expensive part of the spectrum, with Nigeria having the cheapest subscription at NGN49,000 (R576), while Mozambique’s monthly fee works out to R2,101.

Two additional accessories are available from the Starlink website: an ethernet adapter that costs MGA 351,000 (R1,426) and a 45-metre cable priced at MGA 648,000 (R2,632)

Starlink’s Madagascar launch announcement comes a few days after it confirmed a timeframe for activating the service in Lesotho.

This leaves South Africa as the only country in Southern Africa without this confirmation.

Of the 54 countries in Africa, only 15 do not have an estimated Starlink availability timeframe.

The uncapped low-earth orbit satellite Internet service has already launched in two of South Africa’s six neighbours — Eswatini and Mozambique.

Namibia is set to receive coverage sometime in 2024, and Zimbabwe and Botswana will be getting theirs at around the same time as Lesotho.

This leaves South Africa surrounded by countries that should have Starlink by year-end.

Now that Madagascar officially has the service, five have access to Starlink in Southern Africa.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has not officially confirmed why it is reluctant to launch Starlink in South Africa, but it is an open industry secret that regulatory uncertainty around BEE ownership is to blame.

Starlink had an estimated launch window in South Africa, but withdrew it after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) stipulated that telecommunications operators with a national footprint must be 30% black-owned.

Previously, the regulations said network licensees had to be 30%-owned by historically disadvantaged persons, which includes black people, women, youth, and people with disabilities.

Ironically, Icasa has yet to enact its new regulations, and it is unclear whether it will follow through with the change.

Therefore, Starlink’s withdrawal may have been entirely unnecessary and avoidable.

The table below compares the prices of Starlink’s residential equipment, shipping fees in the eight African countries where it is officially available, and the monthly fee with regional roaming.

It is in ascending order according to the monthly fee with regional roaming.