.
Image: Starlink
Starlink has quietly flicked on its star.com/za portal, and given the tumultuous journey so far to get the company into South Africa, this is not just another country landing page.
It may be a deliberate signal that Elon Musk’s satellite broadband ambitions are homing in on South Africa.
Designed for both residential and business users, the sleek new website offers tailored access points: “Connect at home or on the go,” “Residential,” “Roam”, and “Businesses and power users”, all neatly packaged and ready to scale.
According to Mybroadband, this dedicated portal is accompanied by Starlink’s first direct communication to South Africans about its local prospects.
In it, the company encouraged public support for the government’s Equity Equivalents policy direction No. 3218. The deadline to weigh in, via emailing or calling specified channels, was 4 July 2025.
Therefore, it seems that Starlink is actively lobbying and is not just watching from afar; it’s urging South Africans to engage with policymakers.
Starlink is looking for real-time involvement, and it seems that it wants South Africans to be users and not just observers. Customers are being invited to influence policy.
The company, it seems, is also trying to use corporate social investment as another way to sway public perception and engagement. Starlink has promised free rural connectivity, particularly for government schools.
The regulatory landscape is still the main obstacle. Government gazetted the Equity Equivalent directive on 23 May 2025, paving a potential path for Starlink (and others) to comply via investment and transformation contributions rather than equity ownership.
Starlink appears to be actively promoting public engagement with this policy, marking a clear alignment with the government’s transformation agenda.
Ultimately, though, the Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) decides who gets licensed, and Starlink hasn’t formally applied as yet.
The action by Starlink to create a domain site in SA illustrates that the pathway to better and faster internet is on the horizon.