While everyone was watching Starlink hit a regulatory wall in South Africa, a bigger name quietly did the thing SpaceX wouldn’t: Amazon is bringing its low-orbit satellite internet here — as a locally-run service called Evry — by partnering with a South African fibre company instead of fighting the rules. It’s the most interesting broadband story of 2026, so let’s unpack it.
What is Amazon Evry?
Evry is the South African consumer brand for Amazon Leo — Amazon’s low-Earth-orbit satellite network (you may have heard its earlier name, Project Kuiper). It was announced in July 2026, with registrations opening straight away and a commercial launch expected in 2027. Like Starlink, it beams broadband from a constellation of low-orbit satellites, so it can reach homes that fibre and fixed-wireless never will.
On the numbers Amazon has shared, expect speeds up to around 300 Mbps and latency in the region of 50 ms — genuinely usable for everyday browsing, streaming and video calls. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet; Amazon has only said it’s focused on keeping the service "affordable", so treat any specific figure as guesswork for now.
How Amazon got in when Starlink couldn’t
This is the clever part, and the whole reason Evry will beat Starlink to market. South African telecoms licences carry a 30% local-ownership requirement that SpaceX has refused to meet — which is exactly why Starlink is still stuck outside. Amazon sidestepped the problem entirely: rather than licensing itself, it partnered with Herotel, a South African ISP that already holds the licences. Amazon supplies the satellite capacity wholesale; Herotel is the licensed operator that sells Evry to homes.
Why Herotel? It’s one of SA’s biggest home-fibre ISPs, built specifically to serve small towns and rural areas the metros ignored — precisely the customers satellite is best for. It’s also now part of the Vumatel/Maziv group (in which Vodacom holds a stake), so the country’s largest fibre bloc is also becoming its first big consumer-satellite gateway. More on the ISP in our Herotel guide.
Evry vs Starlink — the head-to-head
| Amazon Evry | Starlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Status in SA | Coming (launch ~2027), registrations open | Not licensed; grey-market only |
| How it’s sold | Locally, by Herotel (licensed) | No local service |
| Top speed | up to ~300 Mbps | ~100–200 Mbps (grey import) |
| Latency | ~50 ms | similar low-orbit range |
| Pricing | not announced ("affordable") | est. R950–R1,200 (grey, unofficial) |
| Can you buy it legally? | Will be, at launch | No |
The decisive difference isn’t speed or specs — the two are broadly comparable low-orbit systems. It’s legitimacy. Evry will be a proper local service with local billing, support and accountability; Starlink, for now, is an unlicensed workaround. For most people that alone settles it.
Should you wait for Evry, or get fibre now?
Here’s the reality check. Evry hasn’t launched, has no confirmed price, and satellite — however good — still can’t match a fibre line on cost or latency. So the honest advice splits cleanly:
- If fibre or fixed-5G reaches your home: get it now. It’ll be cheaper and faster than any satellite option, and there’s nothing to wait for.
- If nothing reaches you today: Evry is the one to watch — a legitimate, locally-supported satellite service is far more appealing than the Starlink grey market. Register your interest and keep an eye on pricing when it lands.
The verdict
Amazon Evry is shaping up to be the satellite service South Africa actually gets — legal, local and built for the areas that need it most — while Starlink stays in limbo. But "the satellite service that arrives first" still isn’t the same as "the best connection for your home." For the vast majority of addresses, a fibre line remains cheaper and better. See where Starlink stands in our Starlink in South Africa guide, or the full field in satellite internet in South Africa.
Don’t wait on a maybe if you don’t have to. Check your address — if fibre or fixed-5G is already live at your home, it beats satellite on price and performance today, no 2027 launch required.