On Friday, October 25, 2024, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) announced that it doesn’t know if StarSat, a pay-TV provider, has taken any further legal action since its recent shutdown.
StarSat, which is run by On Digital Media (ODM) and owned by StarTimes, was forced off the air on Tuesday, October 2, 2024. This happened after ICASA and law enforcement officials came to their headquarters and took away important broadcasting equipment. StarSat promised to fight this decision in court, but ICASA spokesperson Zanele Ntuli said they have not seen any official legal papers.
The reason for the shutdown was that StarSat’s broadcasting license expired in July 2023 and was not renewed in time. They applied to renew it four months late, saying they had trouble finding investors and completing shareholder agreements because of the pandemic.
However, ICASA turned down the late application because, according to the Electronic Communications Act, renewal requests must be submitted at least six months before the license expires.
Jan Hendrik Harmse, StarSat’s marketing manager, explained that the equipment being taken away disrupted services not just in South Africa, but also in other African countries. He criticized the raid, saying, “Our customers have nothing showing on their screen,” and mentioned that they are trying to get permission to start broadcasting again. Even if the court rules in their favor, he noted that a lot of technical work would still be needed.
As a result of the shutdown, many StarSat customers have been left without service. Some have taken to social media to express their frustration, asking for refunds and complaining about the lack of warning from the company.
On Monday, October 8, 2024, StarSat posted an apology on Facebook, saying, “Customers who have paid will not lose their money and will be rewarded with bonuses once the signal is restored.”
Earlier, StarSat had assured customers that their broadcasts would continue without interruption, even though there were licensing problems.
Still, ICASA maintained that ODM could not keep operating without a valid license. StarSat had received several warnings to stop operating before the shutdown occurred.
As ICASA stands firm, StarSat is now facing a tough journey to get their services back up and running, especially with growing dissatisfaction from customers and the operational challenges caused by the loss of equipment.
This situation shows the ongoing struggles in South Africa’s media industry, where ICASA is enforcing the law while broadcasters try to adapt to changing licensing rules.
