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Starlink is a massive national security risk, and that is one of the primary reasons it has not been allowed in South Africa. It's also why Starlink has pushed

Starlink is a massive national security risk, and that is one of the primary reasons it has not been allowed in South Africa. It's also why Starlink has pushed so aggressively to establish itself in South Africa, going as far as to hold private meetings with the Democratic Alliance and even spamming their customers with emails urging them to put pressure on the government.

Havoc 3mo ago
>one of the primary reasons it has not been allowed in South Africa. That's just nonsense. The regulator has been very clear on what the hold up is. A ECNS license is needed, which in turn requires 30% black ownership which musky boy isn't willing to do and isn't likely to change his mind on given his stance on DEI. That's why the communication minister tried to create an alternative pathway around the 30% requirement https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2025-12-12-starlink-closer-to-entering-sa-market-as-malatsi-orders-icasa-to-change-empowerment-regulations/ https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2025-12-12-starlink-...
- dreambuffer 3mo ago
  B-BEEE exists as a kind of "national security risk insurance", that is why it is only applied to sectors like Telecomms and Mining. So my statement is not incorrect.
- drnick1 3mo ago
  > requires 30% black ownership What an absurd requirement.
  - dreambuffer 3mo ago
    The goal is to hedge national security risk by giving ownership of key industries to native South Africans and especially those who have historically been denied economic opportunities by the apartheid government.
    - 486sx33 3mo ago
      [dead]
    - modeless 3mo ago
      Requiring SpaceX to set up a token reseller just to meet the the ownership requirement does exactly nothing for "national security". It's pure graft for whoever gets handed ownership of the reseller and nothing more. In fact if blatant enough it could be illegal under the FCPA.
      - dreambuffer 3mo ago
        It hedges national security risk by having 30% of the profits stay within South Africa, so that if the foreign company decides to use their company to, say, spy on South Africans, they at least have to fund our key industries to do so. That is why B-BBEE applies to Telecomms and other key industries.
        consensus1 2mo ago
        It hedges national security risk by saying "well, there's a national security risk here, and we really can't do anything about that, but we can make them pay us off for taking that risk"? You're really stretching on this one.
        dreambuffer 2mo ago
        No you misunderstand severely, some risks are unavoidable and unknowable. You need a telecommunications industry, you can't just eliminate all risks associated with it. So instead you make them pay a kind of insurance to operate in it, just in case the leader of the country you're allowing in one day decides to target your country (sound familiar?). Of course, another goal is just to empower previously disenfranchised groups and contribute to the economy of South Africa.
        modeless 2mo ago
- HWR_14 3mo ago
  > requires 30% black ownership Of SpaceX or of a special South African Starlink reseller that SpaceX owns 70% of?
  - dreambuffer 3mo ago
    [flagged]
- consensus1 3mo ago
  Why would he give up ownership to someone who did absolutely nothing of value? That's a shakedown. It's like the laws that keep Tesla from selling cars in some states because they require a stealership as middle man.
  - dreambuffer 3mo ago
    Starlink is allowed to choose who they partner with. They will go through a lengthy process to pick partners that align with their business, including value propositions.

Havoc 3mo ago

>one of the primary reasons it has not been allowed in South Africa. That's just nonsense. The regulator has been very clear on what the hold up is. A ECNS license is needed, which in turn requires 30% black ownership which musky boy isn't willing to do and isn't likely to change his mind on given his stance on DEI. That's why the communication minister tried to create an alternative pathway around the 30% requirement https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2025-12-12-starlink-closer-to-entering-sa-market-as-malatsi-orders-icasa-to-change-empowerment-regulations/ https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2025-12-12-starlink-...

dreambuffer 3mo ago
B-BEEE exists as a kind of "national security risk insurance", that is why it is only applied to sectors like Telecomms and Mining. So my statement is not incorrect.
drnick1 3mo ago
> requires 30% black ownership What an absurd requirement.
- dreambuffer 3mo ago
  The goal is to hedge national security risk by giving ownership of key industries to native South Africans and especially those who have historically been denied economic opportunities by the apartheid government.
  - 486sx33 3mo ago
    [dead]
  - modeless 3mo ago
    Requiring SpaceX to set up a token reseller just to meet the the ownership requirement does exactly nothing for "national security". It's pure graft for whoever gets handed ownership of the reseller and nothing more. In fact if blatant enough it could be illegal under the FCPA.
    - dreambuffer 3mo ago
      It hedges national security risk by having 30% of the profits stay within South Africa, so that if the foreign company decides to use their company to, say, spy on South Africans, they at least have to fund our key industries to do so. That is why B-BBEE applies to Telecomms and other key industries.
      - consensus1 2mo ago
        It hedges national security risk by saying "well, there's a national security risk here, and we really can't do anything about that, but we can make them pay us off for taking that risk"? You're really stretching on this one.
        dreambuffer 2mo ago
        No you misunderstand severely, some risks are unavoidable and unknowable. You need a telecommunications industry, you can't just eliminate all risks associated with it. So instead you make them pay a kind of insurance to operate in it, just in case the leader of the country you're allowing in one day decides to target your country (sound familiar?). Of course, another goal is just to empower previously disenfranchised groups and contribute to the economy of South Africa.
        modeless 2mo ago
HWR_14 3mo ago
> requires 30% black ownership Of SpaceX or of a special South African Starlink reseller that SpaceX owns 70% of?
- dreambuffer 3mo ago
  [flagged]
consensus1 3mo ago
Why would he give up ownership to someone who did absolutely nothing of value? That's a shakedown. It's like the laws that keep Tesla from selling cars in some states because they require a stealership as middle man.
- dreambuffer 3mo ago
  Starlink is allowed to choose who they partner with. They will go through a lengthy process to pick partners that align with their business, including value propositions.