‘What is 30%?’: South Africa presses Elon Musk over Starlink

South Africa has renewed its call for Elon Musk’s Starlink to enter the local market, with Deputy Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele urging the billionaire to work with government on the country’s ownership requirements.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s Africa Business Media Innovators gathering in Hermanus on Monday, Gungubele appealed directly to Musk to reconsider his position on South Africa’s regulations.

“Can you get along with us? Work with us in this journey of minimising inequality?” Gungubele said, according to Bloomberg.

“I hope Elon is listening,” he added.

Gungubele questioned whether the 30% ownership requirement should prevent Starlink from accessing what he described as a potentially significant market.

“What is 30% share if you take into account the 70% value that you are going to make in terms of yields and profits?” he said.

TimesLIVE reported that Gungubele said Starlink could help government improve connectivity, while urging Musk to respect South Africa’s equity laws.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) says the Electronic Communications Act requires individual licence holders to have at least 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups.

The dispute has kept Starlink from launching its consumer service in South Africa. MyBroadband reported in June that Starlink had not submitted applications for spectrum, network or electronic communications service licences to ICASA.

Musk has previously criticised the ownership requirement, saying he could not obtain an operating licence “simply because I am not Black”.

Gungubele said government was continuing discussions with Starlink. “We’re engaging on all those issues, and we hope to find one another,” he said.

Meanwhile, MyBroadband reported last week that South Africa was also absent from Starlink’s planned direct-to-cell mobile service rollout, while Starlink has secured or sought permission to operate in several neighbouring African countries.

The South African government’s position is that Starlink must operate within the country’s licensing and transformation framework. ICASA has also said that changing the current 30% ownership requirement to accommodate alternatives such as equity-equivalent investment would require an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act.

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Source: African Insider

Words: Betha Madhomu / African Insider

Featured Image: @cb_doge / X