South Africa outlines plan to create its own communications satellite
In South Africa, the government has outlined a phased plan to develop sovereign satellite communications. The strategy initially provides for leasing satellite capacity and, at the second stage, manufacturing, testing and launching its own geostationary telecommunications satellite. Daily Maverick reports.
In April 2025, South African government officials presented parliamentary committees with a roadmap for establishing sovereign satellite capabilities. The report notes that after public consultations and an updated socioeconomic assessment, the draft strategy was returned to the Cabinet for final policy approval.
First stage of the program
The first stage, designed for the next one to three years, provides for leasing satellite resources and a Condo-Sat model — purchasing transponders or dedicated capacity on existing satellites. This is intended to help meet urgent broadband access needs and achieve the goals of the SA Connect program.
Applications for the allocation of domestic radio-frequency spectrum and orbital positions are coordinated with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and the International Telecommunication Union. The strategy also includes technical skills transfer programs involving the South African National Space Agency Sansa, the Sentech training academy, local universities and international partners.
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Second stage: 5–7 years
At the second stage, the plan is to ensure the full cycle of creating a 100% South African geostationary communications satellite: manufacturing, testing, launch and placement at an orbital position. According to the government’s plan, this is expected to give the country full control over domestic data and security-sector communications.
In July 2025, 116 items from six South African space industry companies were aboard the SpaceX Transporter-14 launch. At the same time, industrial policy and space compliance expert Natasha van Rooyen cited a shortage of systems engineers, limited manufacturing capacity and outdated infrastructure in the sector.
Van Rooyen also noted that the South African Bureau of Standards has no dedicated technical committee for the space industry. According to her, this means regulators lack the technical basis for defining licensing requirements for satellite ground stations, dual-use infrastructure, cybersecurity and data sovereignty.
According to an estimate cited in the report, South Africa spends about 30 billion rand annually on procuring external communications services, while direct annual payments for foreign satellite capacity exceed 1 billion rand. The cost of acquiring a local telecommunications satellite with a 20-year service life is estimated at about 6 billion rand.
