What we know so far
Starlink roaming South Africa users have until 17 August 2026 before the arrangement that has kept satellite internet running in remote homes and businesses stops working in its current form.
SpaceX has discontinued its Global Roam plan, the only Starlink product that allowed continuous, unlimited use outside a subscriber’s registered home country. The plan closed to new sign-ups on 15 July 2026.
Existing Global Roam subscribers must switch to another plan before 17 August 2026 or their service will stop, according to Starlink’s own support notice and the terms of service update sent to Roam customers.
From the same date, the company is halving the international allowance on Roam Unlimited. That plan will include 30 days of service outside the registered home country at a time, down from 60.
This lands harder in South Africa than almost anywhere else, because Starlink has never launched here. SpaceX holds no licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, so roaming on a kit registered in another African country has been the only route in.
What the Starlink roaming South Africa changes mean for you
For travellers, the change is an inconvenience. For the households and small businesses that have been using roaming as a permanent connection, it removes the product entirely.
Roaming has been popular in two distinct groups. Visitors use it in the bush at destinations such as the Kruger National Park, where connectivity is generally limited to the larger camps. Separately, South Africans in areas with few reliable options have registered kits at addresses in countries where Starlink operates and had the hardware shipped home.
Under the new terms, a Roam Unlimited user who hits the 30-day international ceiling has three options. They can upgrade to a Priority plan, localise the account to a new country, or return to the registered home country to reset the window.
None of those three works for someone permanently based in South Africa on a kit registered in Zambia, Mozambique or Botswana. Localising the account is not possible in a country where the service is not licensed.
The only remaining plan with no time restriction on international use is Global Priority, and it is substantially more expensive. Reported entry pricing differs between sources, with the Mobile Internet Resource Center putting it at $250 a month and MyBroadband reporting around $325 for 50GB of data.
There is also a legal dimension that predates these changes. ICASA has stated repeatedly that Starlink holds no electronic communications, electronic communications network or broadcasting service licence in South Africa, and that providing the service without authorisation is contrary to the Electronic Communications Act.
Key details and figures
The confirmed sequence of changes, drawn from Starlink’s support notice and terms of service update, is as follows.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 15 July 2026 | Global Roam closed to new sign-ups. New terms apply immediately to new Roam customers |
| 17 August 2026 | Global Roam discontinued for existing users. Service stops unless a new plan is selected |
| 17 August 2026 | Roam Unlimited limited to 30 days outside the registered home country at a time, down from 60 |
Other confirmed terms: all Roam plans other than Roam Unlimited are for use within the registered home country only, and international use requires an upgrade to Roam Unlimited. The United States and Canada are treated as a single country for this purpose.
Global Roam was priced at about $400 a month and was never advertised on Starlink’s public pricing page, being offered as an upgrade to customers who already held another plan.
One further claim requires a clear caveat. MyBroadband reported on 20 July that a Starlink support agent told a South African customer that a stricter seven-day international roaming limit applies specifically in South Africa, and attributed that limit to local regulations.
Southafriworld could not verify that claim. It rests on a single frontline support interaction relayed to a publication. Starlink has issued no corporate statement confirming a South Africa-specific limit, and ICASA has announced no regulation imposing one. It is reported here as an account from a support agent, not as confirmed company policy.
What is documented is that Starlink began enforcing a 60-day continuous use limit from mid-2025, and that workarounds such as briefly switching a kit off have progressively stopped working.
What happens next
The immediate deadline is 17 August. Global Roam subscribers who take no action will lose service on that date.
The longer question is when, or whether, Starlink launches legally in South Africa. ICASA has published draft regulations on the use of satellite networks by South African licensees and opened an inquiry into a licensing framework for satellite services.
In its 2026/27 annual performance plan, the regulator said it was developing that framework to address the digital divide in remote areas, with public hearings and legal vetting still to be completed before a final satellite regulation is approved by council.
SpaceX has not been issued the electronic communications network service or electronic communications service licences the Electronic Communications Act requires, and ICASA has announced no licence award.
Until that changes, the practical position for South African users is that the grey-market roaming route is both narrowing and unlawful, and the replacement product costs several times more.
