SpaceX Planning to Start First Southeast Asian Starlink Ops in the PH

SpaceX is looking to start its Starlink operations in the Philippines by the end of June, according to trade chief Ramon Lopez last Tuesday. “They intend to start to start operations, at least the first of the 3 gateways, before the end of June 30, before the end of the term of President Duterte,” Lopez comments.

“They will start the use of their low earth orbit satellites and then the gateways are essential to capture the signals from the LEOs and pass it on to consumers or link it up to telcos in the country,” Lopez says in an interview with ANC. SpaceX’s Starlink ops will be utilizing its low-earth orbit satellites for broadband services and consumers. Starlink technology makes use of 1,600 satellites, which plans to increase to thousands more small satellites to connect with ground transceivers.

Lopez also states, “Their system will augment as well as complement existing broadband capacities. This will further capacitate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and facilitate online learning, e-commerce, and fintech,” The launch of SpaceX’s Starlink operations will also enable higher capacities for telco companies, according to the trade chief.

Previous Starlink negotiations with the government were further sped up with the recently approved amendments to the Public Service Act, which liberalized foreign ownership in the Philippines which including telecommunications companies. As of now, Starlink is currently obtaining permits from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and has already submitted its documents for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration.

According to Lopez, the Philippines is set to be the first country in Southeast Asia to experience Starlink technology, along with Japan in East Asia. Lopez also says that apart from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Lopez also states more foreign investors including data centers for electric vehicles, renewable energy, and hyperscalers are being attracted to invest in the Philippines.

Source: ABS CBN News, ABS CBN News