Communications regulator Icasa told TechCentral on Monday that, despite a post by Elon Musk on his social media platform X at the weekend that Starlink's satellite broadband service is awaiting regulatory approval in South Africa, the regulator has not received a licence application.
"Please note that Icasa has not received an application [from Starlink] as yet," an Icasa spokeswoman told TechCentral on Monday in response to a query.
Musk's reply on Sunday to a post by X user @Boer about the likely launch date of Starlink comes after neighbouring Zimbabwe became the seventh nation in the region to get Starlink services before South Africa.
TechCentral reported in December 2023 that Icasa had indeed received type approval certificate applications for Starlink end-user equipment. An application for an operating licence is yet to arrive, however, according to the Icasa spokeswoman.
Paratus is one of Starlink's pan-African distribution partners , while Data X Lab is a specialist service provider that helps companies interact with regulators like Icasa.
