--- title: South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in... description: South Africa's communications regulator Icasa has advised prospective satellite operators like Starlink to acquire existing network licences rather than apply... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria | daily.dev og:description: South Africa's communications regulator Icasa has advised prospective satellite operators like Starlink to acquire existing network licences rather than apply... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/W0PTCxEbQ.png og:image:alt: South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria 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. # South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary South Africa's communications regulator Icasa has advised prospective satellite operators like Starlink to acquire existing network licences rather than apply for new ones, as the regulatory framework cannot issue new I-ECNS licences until a ministerial policy direction and formal invitation process are completed. A former Vodacom executive argues this regulatory gridlock mirrors how Telkom failed to adapt to mobile disruption — and warns that South African mobile operators now face the same existential risk from LEO satellite networks. With 3GPP standards integrating satellites into 5G/6G, SpaceX amassing $17B in spectrum, and neighbouring African countries already licensing Starlink, the author contends the structural shift to non-terrestrial networks is inevitable. The real question is how long South Africa will delay its own market entry while a grey market persists and competitors move ahead. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Icasa’s blunt message to Starlink and other satellite operators](https://daily.dev/posts/icasa-s-blunt-message-to-starlink-and-other-satellite-operators-wywxuaeg4) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Starlink expands public advocacy campaign as it pushes for SA licence](https://daily.dev/posts/starlink-expands-public-advocacy-campaign-as-it-pushes-for-sa-licence-ragzkvnxi) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Starlink wait set to drag on as Icasa flags legal hurdle](https://daily.dev/posts/starlink-wait-set-to-drag-on-as-icasa-flags-legal-hurdle-afanvoily) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq) ```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":"South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq"},"datePublished":"2026-06-30T05:55:17.924Z","dateModified":"2026-06-30T05:55:42.764Z","description":"South Africa's communications regulator Icasa has advised prospective satellite operators like Starlink to acquire existing network licences rather than apply...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d014da6e09619e2ad375f9c363688f3f?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d014da6e09619e2ad375f9c363688f3f?_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/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@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":"South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria"}]} ```