IN SHORT: South Africa’s Communications Minister Solly Malatsi announced at the department’s May 12 budget vote that he will pursue amendments to the Electronic Communications Act to embed Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes as an alternative to the 30% black ownership requirement for telecoms licences. The move follows ICASA’s May 13 declaration that it cannot implement the minister’s December 2025 policy direction without a change to the Act itself. Parliamentary approval will be required, and the ANC and EFF have both signalled opposition. The amendment, if passed, would allow Starlink and other multinational satellite operators to obtain South African licences without selling equity.
South Africa’s Starlink standoff has moved from regulatory to legislative, with Communications Minister Solly Malatsi announcing plans to amend the Electronic Communications Act after the telecoms regulator ICASA ruled it lacked the legal authority to implement his equity equivalent policy direction without a statutory change. The escalation, confirmed at Malatsi’s parliamentary budget vote on May 12 and underscored by News24’s reporting on May 25, means SpaceX’s satellite internet service will not receive a licence through the regulatory route and must wait for parliament to act. That is a fundamentally different and longer timeline than the ministerial policy direction had implied.
- ICASA stated on May 13 that while the amended ICT Sector Code recognises Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes, full alignment with all provisions of the code would require a legislative amendment to the current Electronic Communications Act. The regulator said it was enjoined to advance historically disadvantaged groups as guided by the Act, which explicitly requires 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals for licence holders.
- Malatsi responded by announcing that his department would pursue legislative amendments to the ECA. He framed this not as a Starlink-specific concession but as a matter of regulatory parity: “We are saying that the regulations in our sector must consistently make provision for the two choices that exist in any other sector.” EEIPs are already recognised in the automotive and other industries as an alternative to direct ownership transfer.
- SpaceX has pledged R2 billion ($110 million) toward South African rural connectivity initiatives under an EEIP framework, contingent on the policy being enacted. It has also stated it would immediately apply for a South African licence if EEIPs were recognised in communications licensing.
- The legislative route requires drafting, a public consultation process and parliamentary approval. The ANC has repeatedly signalled opposition to any dilution of BEE ownership requirements in telecoms. The MK Party and EFF have both accused Malatsi of designing the policy specifically to benefit Elon Musk, whom they regard as politically compromised given his relationship with former US President Donald Trump.
- Starlink operates legally in 22 other African countries, including all of South Africa’s immediate neighbours: Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho. The regulatory gap between South Africa and the rest of the continent has become an increasingly difficult political position to defend as connectivity inequality between South Africa’s rural population and neighbouring countries grows.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly backed Malatsi’s approach, with his spokesperson confirming that four or five satellite operators beyond Starlink have expressed interest in the framework, reinforcing the minister’s argument that the amendment is not company-specific.
The Starlink debate has become one of the most politically charged technology policy arguments in South Africa’s recent history, fusing questions of economic empowerment, foreign investment, digital access and Elon Musk’s personal political baggage into a single regulatory dispute. The practical cost of the stalemate falls disproportionately on South Africa’s unconnected rural population, the estimated 14 million people without affordable broadband access who would benefit most from low-Earth orbit satellite connectivity. Africaspoint covered the ICASA showdown in full: SA minister forces Starlink showdown.
The Bigger Picture: A legislative amendment to the ECA is a multi-year process in a parliament where the governing ANC and its opposition blocs have both signalled hostility to the proposal. Malatsi needs coalition partners within the Government of National Unity to support the amendment, and the DA’s position alone is insufficient to carry it. The commercial stakes are significant: South Africa has one of the most acute connectivity inequality gaps in the world relative to its income level, with urban fibre penetration approaching European levels while rural connectivity remains among the worst on the continent. Every month the legislative process takes is another month of missed connection for South Africa’s most underserved communities. That is the argument Malatsi needs to make loudly enough to shift coalition arithmetic.
Source: News24, May 25 2026 / Techpoint Africa, May 19 2026
