Unreliable mobile coverage and signal dead zones remain significant operational hurdles for small businesses, agricultural enterprises, and tourism operators in non-urban provinces like Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
Lacking stable internet access, rural SMMEs struggle to process card or QR-code payments, run cloud-based inventory systems, and market products online. High-speed LEO satellite networks offer low-latency broadband capable of supporting these digital tools in areas where building physical fibre or cellular towers is economically unviable.
Mobile telecoms company Cell C has confirmed it is in confidential discussions with global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers, including SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon Leo, to explore commercial distribution and direct-to-cell partnerships.
The move, which forms part of Cell C’s asset-light business model that relies on strategic infrastructure partnerships rather than owning traditional cell towers, may benefit businesses in areas located in unreliable mobile coverage and signal dead zones
The operator is evaluating options to resell satellite broadband hardware and develop direct-to-device capabilities to connect standard mobile phones in remote areas without terrestrial signal coverage.
“We could resell their products. We could unlock potentially a direct-to-device proposition with them. We’re in discussions with Starlink. We’re in discussions with Amazon. We’re in discussions with everybody,” said Cell C Chief Executive Officer Jorge Mendes. “It’s good for the consumer, bringing prices down.”
In a separate official statement, Cell C added: “We continue to engage with a range of industry participants, including LEO satellite providers, as part of our ongoing assessment of future connectivity opportunities.”
Lizeka Mabandla, a small business advisor and rural growth consultant, noted that connectivity directly impacts small business survival.
“A rural farm stall, eco-lodge, or local supplier without stable internet cannot participate fully in the modern economy,” Mabandla explained. “When a business cannot process a digital payment because there is no signal, they lose sales. Reliable satellite broadband removes that barrier and gives remote entrepreneurs the same operational tools as urban businesses.”
The commercial rollout of international satellite services in South Africa has faced regulatory delays under the Electronic Communications Act, which mandates a minimum 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups for individual license holders.
To address these barriers, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi is pursuing policy directives and legislative amendments to enable Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs). These programmes would allow foreign satellite companies to meet transformation requirements through local infrastructure investments, skills development, and SMME support rather than direct equity transfer.
“Low Earth Orbit satellite services are a vital part of South Africa’s digital future,” Malatsi stated. “Rather than wait a decade to develop domestic LEO capacity, we must create conditions for international operators to serve our people now in a manner that supports both national interest and regulatory compliance.”
