South Africa isn’t the only country in Southern Africa where Elon Musk is facing pushback over the licensing of Starlink.
The satellite broadband service operated by Musk’s company SpaceX is facing calls to make up to 30% of the equity in its Lesotho operation available to the Basotho people as a licensing condition.
Lesotho rights group Section 2 has written to the Lesotho Communications Authority – that country’s version of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa – to object to the licensing of Starlink in the “complete absence of local ownership”.
Musk recently criticised South Africa’s licensing requirements for telecommunications operators like Starlink, which require a minimum 30% shareholding by “historically disadvantaged” individuals or groups, stating on X that Starlink can’t get a licence in South Africa because “I am not black”.
Section 2, which describes itself as a “non-partisan organisation” that works to ensure “governance decisions reflect the best interests of the Basotho people”, said in a statement that licensing Starlink in Lesotho without local shareholding would be a “departure from the longstanding practice of ensuring Basotho participation in the sector”.
“While Section 2 recognises the potential benefits of expanded internet access, we respectfully oppose the issuance of this licence to Starlink due to the complete absence of local ownership in the company…,” said Section 2 secretary-general Tjatjapa Sekabi in the letter to the regulator.
Balance
“The telecoms sector in Lesotho has long been shaped by a deliberate approach to balance foreign investment with local participation. Econet Telecom Lesotho, for example, is 70% owned by Econet Wireless Global, but the government of Lesotho retains a 30% stake,” Sekabi wrote. “Similarly, Vodacom Lesotho is 80% owned by Vodacom Group, yet 20% is held by the Sekha-Metsi consortium, a group of local Basotho businesspeople and public figures.”
Section 2 said Starlink Lesotho is 100% held by Starlink Holdings Netherlands, with its registered directors “all being US citizens”.
Read: Starlink in race with Chinese rivals to dominate satellite internet
“This leaves no room for Basotho ownership, either through the government or local entities,” wrote Sekabi. “Such a structure risks sidelining Lesotho’s citizens from the economic benefits of a telecoms operation, including profit sharing, job creation and influence over service priorities tailored to local needs.”
According to Starlink’s service availability map, the company will launch its services in the Mountain Kingdom in 2025. In neighbouring South Africa, where Musk is pushing back against black empowerment licensing rules, the service date remains “unknown at this time”.
Starlink has already been launched in three of South Africa’s neighbouring countries: Eswatini (previously Swaziland), Botswana and Zimbabwe. Other than Lesotho, the only other country bordering South Africa that doesn’t yet have commercial Starlink services is Namibia, with the Starlink map promising a launch there this year. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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