Starlink’s SA users are finally running out of road

Elon Musk’s Starlink is terminating the packages of users who had been accessing the company’s high-speed-internet services illegally, including in South Africa.

Many people who had been using Starlink in South Africa took to local Starlink Facebook groups over the weekend, complaining that their services had been terminated.

This after SpaceX, which owns Starlink, sent emails to customers accessing services in countries where the satellite internet provider didn’t have regulatory approval earlier this month. The company said their services would be off after 21 August.

SpaceX issued a similar threat in April this year but seemingly didn’t follow through with it.

Now though, it seems like the jig is up for people in South Africa who have been sidestepping the law to access Starlink services in the country.

Through its fleet of low-earth orbit satellites, Starlink can provide high-speed internet access to almost any part of the world. This is particularly useful in rural settings with a low population density as these areas have historically been particularly difficult to connect profitably.

Starlink has not applied for a licence to operate in South Africa, with ownership equity requirements in the Electronic Communication Act thought to be the biggest stumbling block. The act requires holders of communications licences to be 30%-owned by historically disadvantaged groups.

While it has not been possible to import a Starlink kit or take out a subscription in South Africa, some people got around this by taking out a regional roaming package that allows the kit to be used beyond the borders of the home country. Users could then bring the kit into South Africa.

The Independent Communications Regulator of South Africa (Icasa) published a Government Gazette notice late last year, which stated that using a Starlink in this way was illegal.

Until now, though, the illegal connections had largely been untroubled and unpunished.

Workarounds

In response to the recent cut-off, IcasaSePush, a local company which had imported Starlink kits into South Africa and managed users’ subscriptions, published a list of potential workarounds for the cutoff. The list was subsequently trimmed down to only two methods by Monday.

Firstly, Starlink’s global roaming packages, which allow for services to be accessed anywhere on the planet, still seem to work, according to IcasaSePush. However, this option is substantially more expensive than a regional roaming package.

The other fix is to manually take the Starlink kit back to the country where the service is managed from, every two months, as is required by Starlink for the regional package.

IcasaSePush notes that these regulations could change at any time.

Adding to Starlink’s clampdown on illegal connections, it also recently introduced a steep “outside region fee” which will be levied on users who buy a subscription in one country and activate their service in another.

Progress

Icasa signalled its intent to hold an inquiry to look into new satellite rules in South Africa in a Government Gazette published on 14 August this year.

The gazette seems to pave the way for introducing a distinct regulatory framework for international satellite connectivity providers.

It also explicitly recognises the potential value of the technology to rural communities.

By News24