Amazon targets South Africa as Starlink stalls

Amazon said Wednesday it will launch satellite internet services in South Africa, moving into a market where Elon Musk’s Starlink is still waiting for regulatory approval.

The company said its low-Earth orbit satellite network, Amazon Leo, is designed to bring internet access to customers in places with limited or no connectivity. In South Africa, Amazon will work with local provider Herotel, which it described as the country’s largest fixed internet service provider.

Under the agreement, Herotel will use Amazon Leo’s technology for a new service called Evry, with a commercial launch planned for 2027. Amazon said this is its first Amazon Leo agreement of this kind in Africa, but did not disclose financial terms.

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The move comes as SpaceX’s Starlink has not secured a license in South Africa because of local ownership requirements. Telecommunications companies in the country, including those with foreign investment, must provide 30% equity to historically disadvantaged groups, a policy created to address the legacy of racial inequality under apartheid.

Musk, who was born in South Africa and left in his late teens, has rejected giving up ownership stakes. He has called the Black empowerment policy “openly racist” and has repeatedly accused the government in Pretoria of discriminating against white people.

Amazon launched its first batch of low-Earth orbit satellites last year and says it now has more than 390 satellites deployed. That is still well behind Starlink’s fleet of more than 10,000.