There are parts of South Africa where losing signal is almost expected. Drive far enough out of a city, take the wrong turn through the Karoo, head onto a remote farm or arrive at a site kilometres from the nearest town and those familiar little bars at the top of your phone can disappear remarkably quickly.
For years, that has simply been part of the connectivity equation. Networks need infrastructure. Fibre needs cables. Mobile coverage needs towers. And when the distances become enormous and the population becomes sparse, connecting everyone becomes considerably more difficult and expensive.
But something interesting is happening above our heads.
Satellite connectivity is moving from the fringes of telecommunications into the mainstream, and South Africa could be one of the places where it makes a very real difference.
Satellite internet itself isn’t new. What has changed is the technology behind it.
Low Earth orbit satellites operate much closer to Earth than traditional geostationary satellites, helping to reduce the delays historically associated with satellite internet and making the technology far more practical for everyday connectivity.
That shift is already becoming relevant locally. Amazon Leo and South African internet provider Herotel announced an agreement in July to bring satellite internet to South African homes and small businesses through Herotel’s new evry service, with commercial availability expected in 2027. The particular focus is on communities beyond the practical reach of fibre and fixed wireless networks.
And this isn’t simply another way to stream Netflix from a farm.
Satellite connectivity has implications for businesses operating across agriculture, mining, logistics and other industries where employees, equipment and operations don’t conveniently remain within well-connected metropolitan areas.
For a country as geographically varied as South Africa, that matters.
This is where things become particularly interesting.
The next chapter of satellite connectivity isn’t necessarily about installing a special satellite terminal at all. Direct-to-device technology is being developed to allow compatible mobile devices to communicate directly with satellites when conventional terrestrial coverage isn’t available.
Amazon Leo recently outlined plans for a direct-to-device network capable of supporting services including messaging, voice, data and emergency communications, although its proposed satellite deployment is only expected to begin in 2028. Locally, Cell C has also confirmed discussions with low Earth orbit satellite providers, including Amazon Leo and Starlink, around future connectivity opportunities that could include direct-to-device services.
Imagine the practical difference.
A field worker moves outside conventional coverage. A truck travels through a remote stretch of the country. A mining operation needs another layer of communications resilience. Instead of connectivity simply ending at the edge of the mobile network, a satellite could eventually help bridge that gap.
That doesn’t mean mobile towers, fibre and traditional networks are suddenly heading for extinction. Far from it. Satellite connectivity makes much more sense as another layer in an increasingly connected ecosystem, filling the spaces conventional infrastructure struggles to reach.
There are still important pieces to work through, including spectrum, licensing, affordability, device compatibility and how satellite services integrate with existing telecommunications networks. South Africa’s regulator, ICASA, has already been working on changes intended to provide greater regulatory certainty for satellite services and encourage investment and innovation in the sector.
So we aren’t at the point where every smartphone can casually switch from a tower to a satellite whenever the signal disappears.
But the direction is becoming clear.
For South Africa, the most exciting thing about satellite connectivity may not be the satellites themselves. It is what happens when geography becomes less of a barrier to being connected.
Because in the future, seeing “No Service” on your phone might not mean quite what it does today.
