The communications regulator told an internet service provider in the Northern Cape to stop enabling South Africans to use Starlink.
IT Lec has, for a number of months, been acting as a third-party company, which imports and manages South African customers' Starlink accounts on their behalf. It previously told News24 that Starlink had not applied for the necessary licences to operate in South Africa. Historically, it has been difficult for network operators to serve rural communities as rolling out expensive infrastructure in areas with a low population density is difficult to make profitable.
Essentially, IT Lec was able to provide Starlink services for South Africans by taking out a Starlink International roaming subscription in a country where Starlink was authorised to operate and importing the kits into South Africa for clients.