An expert has cautioned against viewing Starlink as a panacea for South Africa’s digital divide. While the satellite internet service offers potential benefits, it falls short in addressing the country’s broader inclusivity challenges.
While noting that Starlink was “very simple to set up, and very simple to use,” Arthur Goldstuck told SABC: “The bad news is that it’s incredibly expensive”. He is the CEO of World Wide Worx, an independent technology market research organisation.
While Starlink’s high-speed internet capabilities can provide a valuable service in underserved areas, critics argue that it fails to address the underlying issues that contribute to digital inequality.
These issues include affordability,infrastructure limitations, and the lack of digital literacy skills among marginalised communities.
“It’s not a solution for inclusivity. It’s not going to bring internet access to underserved communities, unless they have a retail model where you can put a receiver in a village, for example, and then resell it for a very low cost, access to what then becomes a Wi-Fi hotspot.”
In his estimation, the devices cost around R6000, plus a monthly subscription fee between R600 and R900. Advocates for affordable internet access claim it is a human right, based on the right to information.
On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters that he spoke to Elon Musk, founder of Starlink, over potential investment. There are growing calls for the service in his country of birth, especially since neighbouring Zimbabwe last week obtained access.
“I have had discussions with him and have said, ‘Elon, you become so successful and you’re investing in a variety of countries, I want you to come home and invest here’,” he said. “He and I are going to have a further discussion.”
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