South Africa’s communications regulator has reopened the rules governing satellite user terminals, vessel- and aircraft-mounted antennas and international satellite operator registration, six months after concluding its inquiry into satellite licensing.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) published draft amendments on 15 May 2026 to the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations, 2015 and the Radio Frequency Spectrum Fees Regulations, 2010. Written representations are due by 16:00 on 29 June 2026.
What the amendments cover
The draft regulations introduce procedures for authorising satellite user terminals and Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM), the moving antennas fitted to ships, aircraft and vehicles. They also formalise a registration framework for international satellite operators serving South African customers.
The fees schedule is being reviewed in light of “increasing bandwidth requirements” in the higher frequency bands used by modern satellite systems, according to ICASA.
Following the satellite inquiry
The amendments give effect to findings from ICASA’s Licensing Framework for Satellite Services Inquiry, launched in August 2024 and concluded with public hearings between 5 and 7 February 2025. The regulator received 47 written submissions during the inquiry phase.
“The proposed amendments give effect to the findings of the Inquiry and are intended to provide regulatory certainty, support innovation and investment in satellite services, and promote efficient spectrum use in South Africa,” said Thabisa Faye, ICASA Councillor and chairperson of the Satellite Licensing Framework Committee.
Why it matters
Satellite operators including SpaceX’s Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have grown active across African markets without a South African licensing regime tailored to low-earth-orbit constellations. Starlink in particular has not secured local authorisation, in part because the Electronic Communications Act sets a 30% historically-disadvantaged equity threshold for individual licensees.
The spectrum-rule amendments sit alongside a separate ICASA process responding to a policy direction issued by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi in December 2025, which proposes recognising equity-equivalent investment programmes as an alternative to the ownership rule.
Submitting comments
Written representations on the draft amendments must reach ICASA by 16:00 on 29 June 2026. The full draft text appears in Government Gazette No. 52530, Notice 3144.
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