Amazon’s low Earth orbiting broadband fleet has structured an agreement with local telco Herotel, and with it comes permission to start its broadband service in South Africa.

Rival Starlink has been trying for years to gain permission to start its Starlink services and now has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit. Amazon Leo has barely 400 satellites and is well short of the number of satellites to actually start a service over South Africa. But, somewhat remarkably, Amazon Leo might beat Starlink to going live in the country.

Herotel, the Maziv-owned internet service provider and fibre/wireless operator, will distribute Leo’s satellite broadband under a new brand, Evry, with commercial launch expected in 2027. The tortoise, however improbably, has lapped the hare and this despite Starlink’s Elon Musk being a South African-born citizen.

The local rules confronting both companies are identical. To hold a network licence in South Africa, an operator must be 30 percent owned by historically disadvantaged groups. SpaceX has refused to cede equity in its local operation, and Musk has spent years litigating the point in public, describing the requirement as racially discriminatory – he has claimed he cannot launch Starlink “because I’m not black” – and elevating a licensing question into a diplomatic and political spectacle. The result: Starlink remains dark in Africa’s most developed broadband market while flourishing in nearly every country surrounding it, said a local report.

Amazon read the same rulebook and reached a different conclusion. By linking with a local – and wholly approved business – Amazon has bypassed the necessary network licencesl, and that the realistic route to market runs through an existing licence holder.

Herotel will hold the licences; Amazon will hold none.

However, these ‘permissions’ do not guarantee success in the market, and it is perfectly possible for SpaceX and Starlink to comply with South Africa’s rules. A compliant relationship will enable SpaceX to start a Starlink service and thus beating Amazon to the punch.

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Categories: Blogs, Broadband, Inside Satellite, Satellite

Tags: Amazon, elon musk, south africa