The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has yet to receive a formal application from Starlink for its services to operate in the country.
This is according to ICASA chairperson Mothibi Ramusi, in an interview with ITWeb TV.
During the wide-ranging interview, Ramusi spoke about the telecoms, broadcasting and postal services regulator’s relevance in the age of technological evolution.
He also discussed the new regime of satellites, overhauling the policy legislative framework, the proliferation of unregistered SIM cards and game-changing collaboration.
At the time of the interview, in August, it had been just over four months since Ramusi took up the chairmanship role at the authority, following his time as CIO of the National Lotteries Commission.
Embracing satellite
With Elon Musk’s Starlink already launching in SA’s Southern African peers, there’s been a lot of noise as to why the tech billionaire has yet to provide the satellite-based internet service in his country of birth.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Musk’s SpaceX, providing satellite internet access coverage to over 60 countries. SpaceX started 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, with the coverage map showing the date for the service’s availability in the country is still “unknown”.
Last November, ICASA stated that Starlink does not have a licence to operate in the country, warning of the ‘illegal’ provision of satellite internet services through Starlink terminals in SA and some entities distributing its products in the country.
Speaking to ITWeb TV, Ramusi said he has not seen an application on his table, or to ICASA, for the service to operate locally.
“Personally, since I've joined, I haven't seen a document in the chairman’s office that says here is an application [from Starlink].” He added that if such an application were to be made, the authority will follow the normal prescribed process.
ICASA issues licences to companies like Starlink that want to provide their services in the country, with two types of licences: the individual ECS and ECNS, he explained.
“With those two licences, it gives you an opportunity and the right to provide country-wide services. Currently, all our mobile operators have similar licences. Anyone, including the company that you have just mentioned [Starlink], if they were to approach the authority and say we've got an appetite to provide services, they must conform to say I've got a licence – that's number one.
“When we issue those licences, there are specific conditions. There are issues in this country when you talk about black empowerment, to an extent that there's a 30% BEE requirement – it’s a policy.
“Our licensing process is fairly clear and one will just have to conform to the requirements. Should they decide to come through any other person, those people must have a licence as well.”
The chairperson revealed the authority is looking at improving the licensing regime in relation to satellites. As a result, it has published a discussion document, titled: “Consultation on the proposed new Licensing Framework for Satellite Services”.
In terms of low-earth orbit satellites (LEOs), and providing broadband connectivity via these satellites, this is not a new phenomenon, he pointed out.
“For me, I support the concept of LEOs. It's not something that I would say it's new and we are not sure how it works. It's just a question of the ‘how’ part, because when you come into any jurisdiction, there are processes that one goes through to allow satellite operations.
“You've got the International Telecommunication Union, which we are a member of through the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, so you need to co-ordinate, especially when you talk spectrum. Sometimes you can have satellites launched, but the frequencies that are required to receive services are used for something else, or there could be spillage into other countries.
“If that kind of co-ordination is done upfront and, as a country, we give support, then those satellites, if they orbit and they are above South Africa in terms of footage, the licensing regime allows you a licence.
“It has been done in broadcasting, and in the military, they're using spectrum for broadcast, as well as for their own operation satellite. The concept of LEO satellites is something that we will embrace as an authority for now.”
Falling behind?
While there’s been some debate as to how ICASA and its policy frameworks are keeping up in the age of technology evolution, Ramusi is confident the authority remains a relevant institution, albeit needing to relook its legislative framework.
He concedes the authority has legislation, including policies, which may be considered “oldish”.
As a result, he revealed that in his first few months in the chairperson’s seat, he held engagements and consultations with various stakeholders, including licensees, original equipment makers and the general public.
“People might talk about technology evolution and emerging trends, but if our legislative frameworks are still talking on something that is not supported, that becomes a problem, so that's one way of ensuring we don't stay behind with changes.
“On engaging citizens, this is to hear what people are saying, so that when we rewrite or improve their legislative framework, when technology comes it finds you ready – that's basically what ICASA is doing at the moment.”
Among the key issues, he added, is that there is a need to overhaul the policy legislative framework. “I think we need to be cognisant of the fact that technology has evolved. In the past, when you wrote policies, the likelihood was you were writing policies in silos, because technology was put in compartments: telecommunications, broadcasting, postal. The vertical sectors are gone; we’re looking at horizontal.
“In the past, when people talk of those silos, e-commerce is one type of application platform that cuts across all industries. Now you need to be alert on how to regulate this kind of cross-cutting application and technology. So, those are some of the messages that are coming up in the four months that I have been here.”
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