ICASA report on future of satellite services to be released in April

The Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) says its report and findings on the future of Satellite services in the country will be made available in April.

The regulator concluded a round of oral hearings in Gauteng to develop a transparent satellite regulatory framework with clear rules for potential investors.

Several stakeholders including big satellite companies and mobile operators made their oral submissions to the 3-day session but one notable absentee from the hearing was Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose representative withdrew from the oral session.

In the written submission, the parent company to Starlink called for an overhaul of the licencing rules to remove BEE equity as a requirement, arguing that this discourages much-needed foreign direct investment.

The satellite hearings chairperson from ICASA, Thabisa Faye, says Space X’s written submissions were not withdrawn and will be considered.

“This is not about spaceX or Starlink in any particular way. Should they want to participate in this sector, then they would follow the usual licencing processes that exist for everybody who are to participate in the ICT sector. ICASA, unfortunately, doesn’t regulate through the media. So until we receive a formal policy directive from the minister, we cannot respond to the minister’s media publication around equity equivalence.”

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