Starlink promises rural school internet - if BEE rules bend

Satellite operator dangles a deal: free high-speed connections for 5,000 isolated schools in SA

- By Lindsey Schutters

In a letter to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, Starlink’s senior director of market access, Ryan Goodnight, made a simple case: let us in under the Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) instead of the traditional 30% local ownership requirement, and we'll transform rural education connectivity.

"Today, millions of children are being denied access to education resources because South African broadband networks do not extend to the most rural parts of the country," Goodnight wrote.

The deal? Fully funded Starlink kits and service for more than 5,000 rural schools, complete with installation and maintenance support through local South African companies.

But the Starlink letter also reveals the company’s growing impatience. Despite being “interested in providing high-speed internet to South Africa since we first deployed our constellation”, efforts remain grounded by what it calls outdated ownership regulations a requirement that Starlink says it cannot meet while maintaining operational control across its global network. But you know this already.

Opening Malatsi’s box

At the centre of the situation sits Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi, who has tried to thread the needle between transformation imperatives and technological pragmatism.

During a parliamentary portfolio committee meeting on 27 May, Malatsi defended his policy directive allowing the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to recognise EEIPs, arguing that the work “predates the events of last week [President Cyril Ramaphosa’s fateful visit to Washington]” and represents continuity rather than capitulation.