South Africa urges Musk to bring Starlink home despite 30% ownership rule

South Africa’s deputy communications minister has publicly appealed to Elon Musk to bring his Starlink satellite internet service to the country, urging him to work with the government rather than fight its ownership rules.

“Can you get along with us? Work with us in this journey of minimising inequality?” Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology Mondli Gungubele said at an event hosted by Bloomberg near Cape Town on Monday. “I hope Elon is listening.”

Gungubele dismissed the significance of the licensing regulations that require telecommunications companies to be 30% owned by Black citizens — the rules Musk has described as racist and blamed for Starlink’s absence. “What is 30% share if you take into account the 70% value that you are going to make in terms of yields and profits? He could invest very significantly in the country of his birth,” he said.

Starlink has not launched in South Africa, with Musk saying on 12 April on X that he can’t get an operating license “simply because I am not Black”. The rules stem from laws introduced after apartheid requiring companies in some industries to sell stakes to Black people excluded from the economy under White-minority rule.

Gungubele said talks continue: “We’re engaging on all those issues, and we hope to find one another.”

Satellite services are seen as a potential game-changer for South Africans who have faced expensive or unreliable internet options, Bloomberg reported.

Source: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/i-hope-elon-is-listening-south-africa-urges-musk-on-starlink/ — Corroboration: https://businesstech.co.za/news/telecommunications/877283/i-hope-elon-is-listening-deputy-minister-gungubele/ and https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/669645-what-is-a-30-share-elon.html