The company owned by the world’s richest man and South African born entrepreneur, Elon Musk, is among the organisations that have weighed in on the country’s highly contentious Electronic Communications Amendment Bill.
This was revealed by the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies’ content adviser, Dr Jacob Medupe, while presenting a high-level summary of submissions received on the bill on Tuesday morning, signalling Musk’s appetite to play a greater role in South Africa’s economy and influencing the legislation.
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Medupe’s presentation followed the closure of the public comment period on September 21. He said SpaceX, which owns the satellite internet service Starlink, was among the organisations that had submitted comments on the proposed legislation.
Other entities that made submissions include the City of Cape Town, Progressive Blacks in ICT, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, Eskom, the Helen Suzman Foundation, the public broadcaster SABC, as well as telecommunications giants MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C. The presentation did not indicate whether other major metros, including Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and eThekwini, had submitted comments.
Starlink dispute remains unresolved
Musk remains embroiled in a dispute with the South African government over plans to launch Starlink in the country. The satellite internet provider has been unable to secure the licences required to operate locally, with Musk arguing that South Africa’s ownership requirements for telecommunications companies unfairly prevent Starlink’s entry into the market.
Government officials, however, maintain that the company is welcome to operate in South Africa provided it complies with existing empowerment and licensing regulations.
The standoff has fuelled a broader debate about how South Africa can balance its transformation objectives with the need to attract foreign investment, expand broadband access and improve connectivity, particularly in underserved communities.
What the bill seeks to achieve
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Electronic Communications Act of 2005 to address key challenges in South Africa’s telecommunications sector, including network expansion, spectrum utilisation, competition and consumer access.
Among its key provisions is the acceleration of network deployment through the introduction of a national standard by-law for the rapid rollout of electronic communications infrastructure, including fibre networks and mobile telecommunications facilities. The measure is intended to reduce regulatory delays and inconsistencies across municipalities.
The Bill also introduces a highly contentious “use it or share it” spectrum framework, which would require operators holding radio-frequency spectrum to make unused portions available to other market participants, promoting more efficient use of a scarce national resource.
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In addition, the legislation seeks to regulate roaming services and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), companies that provide mobile services using another operator’s network infrastructure. These measures aim to encourage greater competition and facilitate market entry for smaller players.
The proposed amendments would further strengthen the framework governing access to telecommunications infrastructure and wholesale pricing, making it easier for operators to lease facilities, share infrastructure and compete on a fairer basis.
The Bill also provides for enhanced competition measures, with government arguing that the reforms will improve competition regulation across the sector, ultimately reducing costs for consumers while improving the quality and availability of communications services.
Spectrum sharing draws mixed reactions
Medupe said the proposed “use it or share it” framework attracted significant attention and generated sharply differing views among stakeholders.
“Supporters, including civil society organisations, community network advocates, SMME (small, micro and medium enterprises) representatives and smaller operators, argued that introducing dynamic spectrum access would enable more efficient utilisation of spectrum resources,” he said.
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“These stakeholders submitted that spectrum sharing could promote competition, facilitate access for new entrants, improve rural connectivity and enhance digital inclusion.”
However, established network operators strongly opposed the proposal, arguing that compulsory spectrum-sharing arrangements could undermine investment certainty and reduce incentives for future network expansion.
“They argued that spectrum licences are acquired through substantial investment and that temporary periods of limited utilisation are often linked to legitimate network planning requirements, future deployment strategies and technological upgrades,” he said.
Next steps in the process
Medupe explained that the public participation process would unfold in three phases.
“The first leg is what we have just undertaken, which is the written submissions,” he said, adding that the second phase would consist of oral presentations by stakeholders who made submissions.
“The last leg of the public participation process will be broader public hearings across the country that the committee will undertake to complete the process.”
Broad support, but concerns remain
Medupe revealed that the committee received 44 submissions from mobile network operators, fixed network operators, municipalities, industry associations, competition and regulatory bodies, community network organisations, SMME advocates, broadcasters and civil society groups.
He said the submissions reflected broad support for the Bill’s objectives of expanding affordable broadband access, promoting digital inclusion, strengthening competition, improving spectrum utilisation, accelerating infrastructure deployment and modernising the regulatory framework governing the electronic communications sector.
However, stakeholders often differed on the most appropriate regulatory mechanisms for achieving those goals.
“A recurring theme across the submissions is the need to strike an appropriate balance between transformation and universal access objectives on the one hand, and investment certainty, regulatory predictability, constitutional compliance and implementation feasibility on the other,” Medupe said.
As a result, many stakeholders sought amendments to specific provisions of the Bill rather than opposing the legislation outright.
- Elon Musk's company SpaceX, which owns Starlink, has submitted comments on South Africa's Electronic Communications Amendment Bill.
- Starlink is currently unable to operate in South Africa due to unresolved licensing issues related to ownership requirements.
- The proposed bill aims to accelerate network deployment, improve spectrum utilisation with a "use it or share it" framework, and enhance competition in the telecom sector.
- The "use it or share it" spectrum provision received mixed reactions, with smaller operators supporting it and established operators opposing it.
- The public participation process for the bill involves written submissions, oral presentations, and broader public hearings.
