Elon Musk in talks with government to bring Starlink to South Africa

Elon Musk’s Starlink is in discussions with the South African government to bring its satellite internet service to the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced. These talks mark a potential expansion of the service into Africa’s largest and most developed economy. Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.

4FM Tech Tuesday: Drama in Space! Ramaphosa revealed that he and Musk, the South African-born billionaire and the world’s wealthiest individual, have been in talks about possible investments in South Africa. “I’ve spoken with him and said, Elon, you’ve become incredibly successful and are investing in many countries, but I want you to come home and invest here,” Ramaphosa told reporters in Pretoria. “He and I will continue our discussions.



” According to the president, Starlink initiated the conversation with the government. However, a spokesperson for Starlink has not yet responded to requests for further comment. Musk hinted at the potential expansion of Starlink into South Africa last Sunday on social media platform X, stating that the company is “waiting for regulatory approval.

” This came in response to a user’s comment expressing the need for Starlink in the country. Starlink, which began deployment in 2019, provides high-speed broadband internet via a constellation of around 5,500 satellites. The service currently serves 2.

6 million customers worldwide, with Zimbabwe becoming the 16th African nation to access Starlink last week. However, the service is still unavailable in certain major markets, such as Taiwan, due to local regulations. In South Africa, companies must meet specific Black ownership requirements as part of efforts to address the economic inequalities left by apartheid.

Starlink would need to negotiate with the government to meet these conditions before launching its services. On the same day, United Airlines announced a deal to use Starlink’s satellite technology to provide inflight Wi-Fi, making it the first major U.S.

airline to adopt the system. This partnership adds a significant U.S.

customer to Starlink’s growing list of users worldwide..