“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will continue to work tirelessly to return your viewing pleasure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
StarSat temporarily suspended all payments following the disconnection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Customers who have paid will not lose their money and will be rewarded with bonuses once the signal is restored,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With many complaining that they were unable to get their subscription fees from October refunded, MyBroadband asked StarSat about its fight with Icasa and its challenges in reimbursing subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“OnDigital Media, the independent broadcasting licence holder that processed payments of StarSat, has been liquidated,” said Harmse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
StarSat customers had taken to the broadcaster’s Facebook page to voice their frustration over the lack of service and refunds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For reference, StarSat instructed customers who wanted refunds to email their requests to wecare@starsat.co.za. However, many report that their emails have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Calls to the customer support centre also go unanswered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “StarSat SA can you please reimburse me now? It’s been months without any subscriptions. I can’t afford to lose my money. Please just pay back my money for the month of October,” one user said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Since your last communication with us on 8 October 2024, it’s now 4 months later, and you just went mute on us as if we don’t exist anymore,” another commented<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The issues stem from OnDigital Media’s failure to renew StarSat’s broadcasting licence within the required timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n StarSat’s broadcasting licence expired in July 2023, and it missed the deadline to submit the documentation required for the renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the pay-TV broadcaster continued operating despite its expired licence, prompting Icasa to instruct it to shut down by 18 September 2024 \u2014 an instruction StarSat defied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The regulator, in partnership with law enforcement officials, conducted a raid on StarSat’s Midrand headquarters<\/a> on 2 October 2024, during which it disconnected its broadcast signals, including those to the rest of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of the raid, Harmse acknowledged that StarSat was late to submit its application, blaming several factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic and unfinished shareholder agreements, that resulted in its late submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We kept communicating the issue to them,” he said, adding that StarSat had warned Icasa that the application would be late.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFailure to meet deadline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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