The Associated Press

Amazon will launch its satellite internet in South Africa, seemingly beating Musk in his homeland

Batesville Guard

The Economic Times

Amazon to launch its satellite internet in South Africa, seemingly beating out Musk in his homeland

Il Sole 24 ORE

Amazon supera Musk in Sudafrica, via al suo internet satellitare nel 2027

Amazon News

Amazon Leo to power satellite internet for South Africas largest internet provider

Medium

Blue Origin Is Eating SpaceXs Lunch

BassonBrain

Substack

Deep Dive: SpaceX

Follow the Money

Hoe de space race tussen miljardairs leidt tot steeds meer giftig afval boven ons hoofd

Connected and Captured

Metaculus

Starlink Operational Satellites Jan 1, 2028

Elon Musk

Ewan Morrison

Spacex

Michael Salla

Truthful

Peter Hague

Dima Zeniuk

Nic Cruz Patane

Steven Berg

Jim Cantrell

TheSpaceEngineer

Saad

CommonSenseSkeptic

Perigeeaero

Yatharth

Tomas Pueyo

Ozan Bellik

"Starship will never be going to Mars."

"Prediction: Elon Musk & SpaceX will miss the late 2026 launch window for Mars."

"I'm willing to bet at this point that no Starship is heading to Mars in '26."

“It's really hard for me to be that optimistic [about a 2026 Mars launch] based on the recent Starship test results.”

"Starship may not be ready for this [2026] window but you can count on it making the next window in 2028."

"We've probably got about a 50% chance of sending ships from Earth to Mars at the end of next year [2026]."

"2026 for unmanned ships to Mars seems perfectly feasible now."

Will SpaceX Launch an Unmanned Starship Mission to Mars in 2026?

The Motley Fool

TechFinitive

Jakub Janovsky

Light Reading

Ginai

The Build Eagle

Yoshii

Spaceanddefense

Space Explored

Caleb Henry

Tim Kilbride

Foro de Televisión por Cable

Ricky L. Freeman

Quilty Space

SatNews

“The reality is, barring a miracle, Amazon will need a waiver from the FCC.”

"2026 target a pipe dream - Kuiper’s years from Starlink’s level!"

"Amazon might not have more than 450 satellites built by its FCC deadline -- far fewer than the 1,618 it needs."

"I agree that Amazon will most likely not meet the FCC deadline of having 1618 Kuiper sats (half of their planned constellation) in orbit by July 30, 2026."

"At this rate, it looks unlikely that Project Kuiper will meet the FCC's deadline of having over 1,600 LEO satellites in orbit by the summer of 2026."

"The obligatory FCC date now looks like proving to be a challenge."

"Kuiper will most likely miss the regulatory deadline to deploy 50% of its satellites by July 2026."

“It’s not exactly where we wanted to be, but we’re making progress [towards the FCC deadline].”

"I can tell you that we’re on track to meet the deadlines set forth in our FCC license."

Will Amazon's Project Kuiper Meet the July 30, 2026 FCC Deadline?

Amazon announced Wednesday it will launch its satellite internet service, Amazon Leo, in South Africa in 2027 through a partnership with local provider Herotel — the company's first such agreement on the African continent.

Amazon announced Wednesday it will launch its satellite internet service, Amazon Leo, in South Africa in 2027 through a partnership with local provider Herotel — the company's first such agreement on the African continent.

South Africa's Communications Minister Solly Malatsi joined Amazon and Herotel representatives to announce the deal, signaling government backing for the agreement. No financial details were initially disclosed.

South Africa's Communications Minister Solly Malatsi joined Amazon and Herotel representatives to announce the deal, signaling government backing for the agreement. No financial details were initially disclosed.

Herotel currently serves more than 350,000 active customers across 550 towns via fiber and fixed wireless networks. The new service, called evry, aims to extend connectivity to South Africans in rural areas where traditional infrastructure is impractical.

Herotel currently serves more than 350,000 active customers across 550 towns via fiber and fixed wireless networks. The new service, called evry, aims to extend connectivity to South Africans in rural areas where traditional infrastructure is impractical.

Starlink, which launched its first operational satellites in 2019 and now has more than 10,000 in orbit, has expanded to around two dozen African countries but has not launched in South Africa due to a dispute over the country's affirmative action regulations.

Starlink, which launched its first operational satellites in 2019 and now has more than 10,000 in orbit, has expanded to around two dozen African countries but has not launched in South Africa due to a dispute over the country's affirmative action regulations.

South Africa's affirmative action policies require foreign companies in the communications sector to give a minority share of their local entities to Black or other non-white owners to obtain a license. The rules stem from the post-apartheid Black Economic Empowerment framework.

South Africa's affirmative action policies require foreign companies in the communications sector to give a minority share of their local entities to Black or other non-white owners to obtain a license. The rules stem from the post-apartheid Black Economic Empowerment framework.

Amazon Leo, formerly called Project Kuiper, has more than 390 satellites deployed and has signed launch agreements in countries including Thailand, Australia, Brazil and several others. Africa has the lowest internet access rate globally, with the World Bank estimating 36% connectivity by 2025.

Amazon Leo, formerly called Project Kuiper, has more than 390 satellites deployed and has signed launch agreements in countries including Thailand, Australia, Brazil and several others. Africa has the lowest internet access rate globally, with the World Bank estimating 36% connectivity by 2025.

Amazon to launch satellite internet in South Africa

The Controversies

CommonSenseSkeptic

Morrison

Bellik

Berg

Cantrell

Musk

Hague

Space

Eagle

Fool

Ginai

Reading

SatNews

Freeman

Kilbride

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Amazon to launch satellite internet in South Africa

The Controversies

CommonSenseSkeptic

Morrison

Bellik

Berg

Cantrell

Musk

Hague

Space

Eagle

Fool

Ginai

Reading

SatNews

Freeman

Kilbride

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters