Amazon plans South Africa satellite internet launch in 2027
Amazon said its Leo service will enter South Africa with Herotel, while Starlink remains outside the market amid Musk’s dispute over local ownership rules.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Amazon said Wednesday it plans to bring its Leo satellite internet service to South Africa in 2027, setting up a move into a major African market where Elon Musk’s Starlink has yet to launch. The company said it will work with South African internet provider Herotel on the rollout.
Amazon said the agreement is its first satellite internet deal in Africa. The company did not initially release financial terms for the arrangement, according to the Associated Press.
The announcement puts Amazon ahead of Starlink in South Africa, the continent’s most advanced economy, according to the Associated Press. Starlink has already launched in about two dozen African countries, AP reported, but it has not entered Musk’s country of birth.
Musk has criticized South Africa’s government over rules that apply to foreign companies seeking communications licenses. He has said those regulations have kept Starlink out of South Africa because he is white, and he has accused the government of racism, according to the Associated Press.
The rules cited by Musk are South Africa’s affirmative action requirements for the communications sector, AP reported. They require foreign companies to give a minority stake in their local operations to Black or other non-white owners to obtain a license.
According to AP, the regulations are intended to widen access to business opportunities denied to non-white South Africans under apartheid, the former system of white minority rule. Musk has refused to follow those requirements, AP reported.
South Africa’s government supported the Amazon arrangement. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi appeared with representatives from Amazon and Herotel to announce the deal, according to the Associated Press.
Amazon Leo was previously known as Project Kuiper. Amazon said it launched its first low-Earth-orbit internet satellites last year and has more than 390 operating now.
Starlink, run by Musk’s SpaceX, began launching operational satellites in 2019 and now has more than 10,000 in orbit, according to AP. Starlink says it operates in more than 160 countries.
Amazon said the South Africa deal begins a broader push to offer Leo across Africa. The company said it also plans to work with Vanu Inc., a Lexington, Massachusetts-based firm that focuses on mobile internet in developing countries.
The potential market is broad, according to the Associated Press. Africa has more than 1.5 billion people, and many live in rural areas or other places without fixed internet connections.
Amazon Leo has already reached launch agreements in several other markets, according to company and local operator announcements cited by AP. Those include Thailand, Kazakhstan, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.