South Africa has amended its ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ (BEE) rules, allowing Starlink to operate via rural school internet investments instead of insisting on the traditional – and to date rigid – 30 per cent equity stake for local people and businesses. The decision could pave the way for rapid satellite broadband rollout amid digital divide […]
November 2025 marked 15 years of the Netflix ISP Speed Index – a monthly readout on which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide the best prime time Netflix streaming. Starting in 2026, the streaming giant says it will continue publishing monthly performance data on the ISP Speed Index site, but these updates will shift to a […]
Canal+ is in a carriage dispute with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) in South Africa. The latest threat is that if the dispute is not resolved then a slew of channels will disappear from DStv. This would include Discovery and CNN. Twelve channels are involved in the initial dispute, and the current position is that the […]
Sphere Abacus (SA) has secured worldwide distribution rights to award-winning Australian producer Easy Tiger’s thriller series Treasure & Dirt, produced for the ABC in association with the BBC and the South Australian Film Corporation. Based on the novel by Chris Hammer, bestselling author of Scrublands, Treasure & Dirt stars Michael Dorman (Territory), Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets), Sarah Peirse […]
South Africa’s Vodacom Group has signed what it described as a “pivotal” agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink. Starlink is not yet approved to launch its direct-to-device activity in the country. “Integrating Starlink’s satellite backhaul into Vodacom’s mobile network will accelerate network coverage expansion while increasing network performance in rural areas,” Vodacom said in a statement. Vodacom […]
Local reports in South Africa say that Communications Minister Solly Malatsi is poised to give a policy direction which will permit SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system to operate in the country. Malatsi’s move will have to be approved by the nation’s regulator Icasa and will likely to require Starlink to invest in local businesses in order […]
Canal+ is moving ahead with its plans for a secondary inward listing on South Africa’s bourse as the French group takes full control of MultiChoice Group Ltd. As part of the process, Canal+ will first delist MultiChoice from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), said the company in a statement on October 13. It will then […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink service is offering some major concessions to South Africa in an attempt to get permission to launch services in the country. Starlink has itemised significant investment promises for the government. Ryan Goodnight, senior director in charge of market access at Starlink has reportedly raised a few key points at the AGM of […]
South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC reported greater losses for 2025, and is complaining about government’s delay in creating a new funding model. According to SABC’s annual report, losses for the year rose by 28 per cent to R253-million (€12.6m), compared with the R198-million loss it reported in 2024. “It has been clear for some time […]
Canal+ and MultiChoice have announced that all conditions to Canal+’s 35 billion rand (€1.72bn) takeover offer for the South African TV broadcaster have been fulfilled following the completion of all necessary regulatory conditions, thus making the deal unconditional. Canal+ owned 46 per cent of MultiChoice as of September 19th, with another 2.2 per cent of […]