The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies wants to see regulation that creates a level playing field, rather than accommodating the needs of one specific service provider.
This, as South Africa’s licensing framework for satellite services is set to take centre stage this week.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will host oral public hearings on the proposed new licensing framework. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Viasat, MultiChoice and mobile operators are set to present during the hearings. ACT, AfriForum, the South African National Space Agency and the South African Communications Forum will also provide arguments.
The hearings come after the telecoms regulator received written submissions from nearly 50 interested parties on the proposed new “Licensing Framework for Satellite Services”.
At the crux of the matter is the black empowerment regulation that stipulates a 30% BEE requirement for the licensing process for a satellite internet service like Starlink.
The communications committee was part of the National Assembly’s Economic Cluster 2 that briefed media on Thursday, to highlight the work undertaken by committees since the start of the seventh Parliament.
Key among the areas addressed were the SABC Bill, the business rescue process under way at the South African Post Office, lowering the cost to communicate and the ICT legislative framework.
During her opening remarks, committee chairperson Khusela Sangoni-Diko said the committee had noted reports of communications minister Solly Malatsi’s intention to amend the country’s BEE laws “to accommodate a certain satellite [company]”.
Resultantly, the committee will engage with the minister on the issue, she stated. “It is undoubtable that our view will always be that government and regulators must ensure there’s a level playing field when licensing similar ICT services, irrespective of whether those services are terrestrial or satellite-based, considering both licence requirements as well as obligation.”
Starlink is a low-Earth orbit satellite internet constellation operated by Musk’s SpaceX, providing satellite internet access coverage to over 60 countries. SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites in 2019.
Although Starlink is available in Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia, South Africans have been waiting for the service since 2021. Starlink's online coverage map shows the date for the service’s availability in the country as “unknown”.Last year, ICASA told ITWeb TV that it has not yet received the application from Starlink.
There was hope that the service would soon be available in SA after president Cyril Ramaphosa met with Musk in New York last year.
Furthermore, Malatsi last year announced plans to issue new policy direction to ICASA, to lower regulatory hurdles that inhibit investment in the country.
The policy direction would seek to clarify the communications department’s position on the recognition of equity equivalent programmes, noting this as part of an initiative to “significantly expand access to broadband connectivity to poor South Africans and people living in remote parts of the country”.
In its submission to ICASA, Starlink parent company SpaceX writes that one subject the consultation doesn’t address is the ability for all satellite operators to hold individual licences to provide their services directly to the consumer.
It states that under the current South African regulatory system, companies providing services directly to end-users must hold I-ECNS and I-ECS licences, which require at least 30% shareholding by historically disadvantaged groups.
“However, many foreign satellite operators, particularly those with direct-to-consumer business models, have global policies that prevent local shareholding, thus excluding them from the South African market. This holds true even when these operators are willing to comply with B-BBEE requirements and invest in initiatives that directly benefit the target communities.
“By aligning the licensing and ownership regulations with the ICT sector code – which recognises equity equivalent programmes as an alternative to local shareholding – ICASA could remove a significant barrier to foreign satellite operators. This would not only increase foreign investment in South Africa, but would also create broader industry benefits, supporting innovation, competition and long-term growth.”
Responding to a journalist’s question on the Starlink matter, Sangoni-Diko said the committee is unaware of what is happening with Starlink, except what it reads in media reports.
“We have not been afforded an opportunity by the minister to take us into his confidence on the discussion. A lot of what I'm saying is speculative at this point, but what we are reading is that the minister seeks some sort of exemption from the BEE legislation to accommodate Starlink.
“I must say…we are a great believer, a great supporter and advocate of investment in this country, and we would welcome services such as Starlink, which are able to help us, we hope, realise our goal of universal coverage, especially in underserved areas. Whether there has been any attempt to study the visibility of that, the cost of that, I don't know.
“Having said that, we do believe there's been a lot of investment that has been made by our telcos in this country, and they have done that according to the laws of this country. There is no country that doesn't have its own laws governing how businesses do business in their area.”
Referencing the US and its proposed ban of TikTok, Sangoni-Diko said this was case until president Donald Trump stepped in and gave the social media platform a 90-day reprieve from the ban, adding that the US should have a 50% ownership position.
“Countries do have laws and in South Africa, we have BEE legislation which says in the specific sector where this company wants to operate in, there shall be a 30% BEE. It's there, it’s in law.
“If you are going to change the rules, you cannot do that in the middle of the game, I think that's what we're arguing. As minister Malatsi seeks to invite Starlink into South Africa, it needs to be done within the existing laws of this country.
“Otherwise, you are creating a different legislative framework for an individual company, and we don't think that is the correct way to do governance. I know that the process will obviously have to go through multiple stakeholders for consultation and if there's a view that legislation must be changed, then it must be changed for both terrestrial and satellite operators, and not just to accommodate one single company.”
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