--- title: Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo | daily.dev description: Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes says the South African mobile operator is in confidential talks with both Starlink and Amazon Leo, covering resale of satellite... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo | daily.dev og:description: Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes says the South African mobile operator is in confidential talks with both Starlink and Amazon Leo, covering resale of satellite... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/23pgBWFz8.png og:image:alt: Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes says the South African mobile operator is in confidential talks with both Starlink and Amazon Leo, covering resale of satellite broadband and a potential direct-to-device offering. This fits Cell C's network-agnostic strategy, since it runs on Vodacom and MTN infrastructure rather than its own radio access network. Amazon Leo already has a non-exclusive distribution deal with Herotel to launch as Evry from 2027, while Starlink remains unlicensed in South Africa due to ownership requirements. Rivals MTN and Vodacom have their own direct-to-cell programmes via Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile respectively, though neither has launched commercially, while Airtel recently launched the continent's first Starlink direct-to-mobile service in the DRC. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why is Starlink still unlicensed in South Africa? Starlink remains unlicensed because it has refused to meet South Africa's requirement that telecom licensees be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups. Communications minister Solly Malatsi gazetted a policy direction in December instructing regulator Icasa to recognize equity equivalent investment programs as an alternative, but Icasa said in May it cannot implement that direction without an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act. _Follow daily.dev for updates on how regulatory hurdles shape satellite internet rollout in emerging markets._ ### How is Amazon Leo entering the South African market without its own license? Amazon Leo signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Herotel, the Maziv-owned ISP, which holds the necessary network licenses since Amazon holds none. Herotel will sell the satellite service under a new brand called Evry starting in 2027. South Africa's regulator Icasa has said satellite operators currently cannot obtain network licenses directly, making partnerships with existing licence holders the realistic route to market. _Track daily.dev for how satellite providers navigate local licensing when entering new markets._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [TCS \| Herotel CEO Van Zyl Botha on beating Starlink to South Africa](https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-herotel-ceo-van-zyl-botha-on-beating-starlink-to-south-africa-kgfvocftf) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Starlink direct-to-mobile network launched in key Sadc country](https://daily.dev/posts/starlink-direct-to-mobile-network-launched-in-key-sadc-country-tfnkhwkpq) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Amazon Leo has enough satellites to take on Starlink](https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-leo-has-enough-satellites-to-take-on-starlink-ugijgewug) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Vodacom parent firms up deal to use Amazon Leo to connect rural towers](https://daily.dev/posts/vodacom-parent-firms-up-deal-to-use-amazon-leo-to-connect-rural-towers-ddip4pxyk) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#amazon](https://daily.dev/tags/amazon), [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T10:03:17.634Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:21:41.611Z","description":"Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes says the South African mobile operator is in confidential talks with both Starlink and Amazon Leo, covering resale of satellite...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b24191d942f7c958028f2d3131f0035c?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b24191d942f7c958028f2d3131f0035c?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCentral","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCentral","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--RsqLDZrL--/f_auto/v1717745297/logos/techcentral","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"amazon,networking","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCentral","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Cell C in talks with Starlink and Amazon Leo"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/cell-c-in-talks-with-starlink-and-amazon-leo-23pgbwfz8#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is Starlink still unlicensed in South Africa?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Starlink remains unlicensed because it has refused to meet South Africa's requirement that telecom licensees be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups. Communications minister Solly Malatsi gazetted a policy direction in December instructing regulator Icasa to recognize equity equivalent investment programs as an alternative, but Icasa said in May it cannot implement that direction without an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act. Follow daily.dev for updates on how regulatory hurdles shape satellite internet rollout in emerging markets."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is Amazon Leo entering the South African market without its own license?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Amazon Leo signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Herotel, the Maziv-owned ISP, which holds the necessary network licenses since Amazon holds none. Herotel will sell the satellite service under a new brand called Evry starting in 2027. South Africa's regulator Icasa has said satellite operators currently cannot obtain network licenses directly, making partnerships with existing licence holders the realistic route to market. Track daily.dev for how satellite providers navigate local licensing when entering new markets."}}]} ```