Starlink Coming To SA Soon After Govt Gazettes BEE Changes

Two days after THAT Oval Office presidential meeting, South Africa has gazetted a new “policy direction” that allows Elon Musk’s Starlink to sidestep BEE ownership requirements.

Communications minister Solly Malatsi gazetted this “proposed policy direction” to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Friday to allow it to sidestep the strict ownership requirements in the telecommunications sector.

Instead, regulations will be applied like other sectors, where foreign companies meet BEE requirements through “equity equivalent investments programmes” such as training, building infrastructure, and supporting small businesses.

Loopholes for Starlink

Malatsi is, in effect, giving Icasa the legal groundwork it needs to give Starlink a licence in South Africa to operate without giving a stake in its business to locals. Other big tech firms like Microsoft and Google have such BEE “equity equivalent” arrangements, but aren’t governed by the strict provisions of the Acts that govern telecoms.

Malatsi’s gazette seeks to “harmonise” the Icasa legal structure with the newer BEE legal amendments, including the Amended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) ICT Sector Code.

The announcement quotes the well-known World Bank statistic that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration in a country, there is a 1.21% growth in GDP.

“The focus of this policy direction is on lowering regulatory hurdles to investment in reliable broadband and ensuring access to the internet,” the document reads. “Policy clarity on the recognition of the equity equivalent investment programmes has long been sought by multinational operators in the ICT industry. This will provide the certainty necessary to attract increased investment in ICT and accelerate universal internet access.”