Amazon, which was founded by Jeff Bezos, said that it would partner with South African internet provider Herotel to launch a new service in the country of 62 million people. Amazon said that it was its first satellite internet agreement on the African continent.
No financial details were initially disclosed.
Amazon’s announcement follows Musk’s bitter criticism of the government in his country of birth. The world’s richest man has said that South African regulations have prevented him from launching Starlink there because he’s white, and has accused the government of racism.
He was referring to South Africa’s affirmative action policies, which require foreign companies operating in the communications sector to give a minority share of their local entities to Black or other non-white owners in order to acquire a license.
The regulations are meant to provide opportunities that were denied non-white people under the country’s previous apartheid system of white minority rule.
