Philippine government officials have met with SpaceX for the potential expansion of Starlink in the country, according to DTI.
DTI — On Monday, the Department of Trade and Industry said that Philippine government officials have met with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for the potential expansion of Starlink to the Philippines.
The agency said that Philippine officials, including the Philippine Trade and Investment Center Team at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, met with SpaceX officials last November 16, 2021.
In a statement, the agency said that the meeting was set to discuss “Starlink’s plan to put up a Philippine-registered company that will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp.”
The agency also said that SpaceX is eyeing to offer satellite internet services and broadband connectivity to remote areas in the country that usually can’t be reached by traditional internet service providers (ISPs).
“With the entry of Starlink into the Philippines, high-speed satellite broadband connectivity is expected to be delivered to customers nationwide, specifically in areas where connectivity has been a challenge,” DTI said.
READ ALSO: Converge To Lease Fiber Lines, Earth Stations To Elon Musk’s SpaceX
According to Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investment (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo, a series of follow-up online meetings were held last December upon the ratification of the Public Services Act (PSA).
ABS-CBN News reported that Starlink is a SpaceX unit that provides satellite internet access to earth using low orbit satellite technology. Elon Musk has been deploying satellites to space for the said project.
Over the weekend, Elon Musk said that Starlink services were active in Ukraine, whose internet services were disrupted by the Russian invasion.
Based on the report, Starlink has a constellation of 1,600 satellites as of mid-2021 and the beta service has been operating in 17 countries in September 2021.
Dennis Anthony Uy, the founder and CEO of Converge, has been vocal about tapping Elon Musk’s Starlink in order to boost connectivity in underserved and unserved areas.
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