South Africa lifts its racial quota rules for Starlink
The South African government has finally removed the racist rule that required SpaceX to sell 30% of its company to local black citizens before allowing Starlink terminals to be sold in its country.
Instead, the government will allow SpaceX to do what the company had repeatedly offered to do, make substantial investments in “local development programs.”
Starlink has been unable to launch in South Africa for years because the current ICASA rules require telecommunications companies to sell 30% of their equity to historically disadvantaged individuals. Starlink has consistently refused, stating it does not sell equity in any market where it operates.
But now under the new directive, multinational companies that cannot sell equity due to global shareholding structures can instead make substantial investments in local development programs. These equity equivalent investment programs must be worth either 30% of the company’s South African operations value or 4% of annual local revenue. The programs require approval and monitoring by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
…Starlink has already outlined plans to invest nearly R2 billion in South Africa. The company proposed investing R500 million to connect approximately 5,000 schools to high-speed internet, benefiting about 2.4 million students.
One of the reasons the government backed down on this issue is that it received more than 19,000 public comments in which 90% blasted the racist quotas and demanded the government approve SpaceX’s proposals.
If you live in South Africa however don’t expect to go out and buy a Starlink terminal tomorrow. Final regulatory approvals will still delay Starlink availability until late 2027, at the earliest.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The South African government has finally removed the racist rule that required SpaceX to sell 30% of its company to local black citizens before allowing Starlink terminals to be sold in its country.
Instead, the government will allow SpaceX to do what the company had repeatedly offered to do, make substantial investments in “local development programs.”
Starlink has been unable to launch in South Africa for years because the current ICASA rules require telecommunications companies to sell 30% of their equity to historically disadvantaged individuals. Starlink has consistently refused, stating it does not sell equity in any market where it operates.
But now under the new directive, multinational companies that cannot sell equity due to global shareholding structures can instead make substantial investments in local development programs. These equity equivalent investment programs must be worth either 30% of the company’s South African operations value or 4% of annual local revenue. The programs require approval and monitoring by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
…Starlink has already outlined plans to invest nearly R2 billion in South Africa. The company proposed investing R500 million to connect approximately 5,000 schools to high-speed internet, benefiting about 2.4 million students.
One of the reasons the government backed down on this issue is that it received more than 19,000 public comments in which 90% blasted the racist quotas and demanded the government approve SpaceX’s proposals.
If you live in South Africa however don’t expect to go out and buy a Starlink terminal tomorrow. Final regulatory approvals will still delay Starlink availability until late 2027, at the earliest.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News


“Give Them Nothing, But Take from Them Everything”
https://youtu.be/QEd7Y2YLgTg
(0:06)
Typical pipsqueak Marxist kleptocratic government picking a fight it can’t win while its neighbors avail themselves of the service by being less greedy. Starlink has now been made available in so many places that no one of them is crucial as a customer.
And I don’t foresee Amazon being any less hard-nosed about these Third World attempts at robbery. Less so, most probably, as the Amazon Leo network is going to cost considerably more to deploy and maintain than does Starlink – less margin for corrupt nonsense.