SpaceX has issued a second notification, escalating its warnings to users who are utilizing its Starlink Internet service outside of their registered countries for prolonged periods, with specific implications for users in South Africa.
A number of South African users who have been taking advantage of the Starlink roaming feature have reported receiving official communications from the company. These communications indicate that starting from the following week, service disconnections will be enforced.
The notice detailed that subscribers who have been operating their service in a foreign country for a duration exceeding two months, relative to where their equipment was initially registered, will face service termination as of Wednesday, 21 August 2024.
Starlink clarified that the ‘Mobile — Regional’ subscription plans are designed to cater to users during temporary travel or while in transit, and are not intended for continuous usage at a fixed location abroad.
To avoid service interruption, the company has directed affected users to either modify the country associated with their account to match their current location or to ensure that they use the service within the country of registration for their equipment.
This recent warning echoes a previous message dispatched to South African roaming users on 16 April 2024, which cautioned that service would be discontinued on 30 April 2024 unless users periodically returned to their registered country at least once every two months.
Although there was speculation that these measures were a response to heightened U.S. government scrutiny concerning the alleged exploitation of Starlink by Russian military forces in Ukraine, the enforcement actions appear to have been targeted primarily at users in African nations.
Despite the threats, Starlink did not execute a service cutoff in South Africa. However, it did terminate regular roaming services in the neighboring countries of Botswana and Namibia, where Starlink’s official coverage map currently lists estimated service launch dates.
It is speculated that Starlink’s intervention in these countries is related to its efforts to secure regulatory approval for service launch. Some users in Botswana and Namibia have found a loophole to reactivate their service by enabling the ‘Mobile — Priority’ option, which offers enhanced data speeds for an additional charge.
In the context of new satellite regulations, South Africa’s projected launch date for Starlink has remained ‘Unknown’ since September 2022. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) considers the operation of Starlink’s roaming service without its sanction to be unlawful.
Nevertheless, thousands of users have disregarded Icasa’s admonitions, drawn by Starlink’s promise of rapid and unlimited Internet connectivity, especially in regions where alternative services are either non-existent or substandard.
The timing of Starlink’s latest correspondence is noteworthy, as it closely follows Icasa’s release of a consultation document proposing a revamped licensing framework for satellite-based services.
The purpose of Icasa’s consultation is to establish a comprehensive regulatory and licensing structure for satellite services within South Africa, as well as to outline the processes for their provision.
The main objectives of the inquiry are as follows:
- Develop a transparent and streamlined regulatory framework with clear rules to establish regulatory certainty for potential satellite operators in South Africa;
- Outline the procedures for the provision of satellite services in South Africa;
- Develop procedures for authorising user terminals, IoT terminals, and earth station user terminals communicating with space stations while in motion;
- Review spectrum fees, taking also into account the increasing amount of bandwidth used by satellite systems operating in higher frequency bands;
- Develop a procedure for registration of international satellite operators (including details of ITU coordination status of the space segment) who intend to provide a service either directly or indirectly (through existing licensed operators) to South African consumers.
Although Starlink has not officially confirmed the reasons for not launching South Africa, industry insiders are convinced it is due to uncertainty around Icasa’s proposed black ownership requirements for Internet service providers.
The Electronic Communications Act already requires that companies with national network infrastructure and service licences be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups. In March 2021, Icasa published new regulations that would change this requirement to 30% black ownership. This regulation has been suspended until an undetermined future date, leaving South Africa’s broadband industry stuck in limbo.
Sceptics might argue that the proposed new requirements outlined by Icasa in its consultation paper could introduce even more complexity in securing approval for satellite services. Even if it achieves the opposite and simplifies approval, it typically takes multiple years after an inquiry is launched before regulations are implemented.
