US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced Wednesday that its low Earth orbit satellite internet service Starlink is now available in the Philippines. Starlink is available in the Philippines SpaceX said in a Twitter post, based on the “Order Starlink” page on Starlink’s website. The Philippines is featured among the nations all over the planet where LEO Network access is accessible.
Earlier this month, Data Lake, a data company headed by tycoon Henry C Jr, announced that it is expediting Starlink’s entry into the Philippines within the first three months of 2023. Data Lake said it would be the country’s first Starlink is the integrator.
Philip Varilla, assistant secretary in the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), had earlier said that the launch of Starlink in the country would be postponed to mid-2023. In July last year, it was announced that Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned Subsidiary Starlink Internet Services Philippines will launch its LEO satellite internet services in the Philippines by December 2022.
Information Lake said in an explanation that postpones in the creation and organization of LEO satellites have pushed back Starlink’s entrance to the main quarter of 2023. Starlink is believed to be able to provide high-speed broadband internet to end users, including remote regions, as it uses satellites located in LEO as compared to traditional and more expensive underground fiber optic cables.
Starlink plans to offer 200 Mbps download speeds to Philippine customers starting at $599 per satellite unit and connectivity service at $99 per month.
LEOs in Quezon City can subscribe to the Internet service for a one-time fee of ₹29,320 for the hardware and ₹2,700 per month for the service, according to the order form on the Starlink website.
The Department of Trade and Industry earlier said the Philippines would be the first country in Southeast Asia to take advantage of Starlink technology.
SpaceX said in a tweet that the launch of Starlink’s local services makes the country one of the first places where the company’s services are available. Asked for comment, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said it was yet to confirm Starlink’s first meaning Inauguration of the station.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Martin D. Pimentel III welcomed the announcement as it would help provide internet access to rural, remote, under-served and under-served areas in the Philippines.
The Internet has become a basic necessity in this modern world so I am pleased that with SpaceX we have an even better chance to improve Internet connectivity in rural areas and poor communities across the country, said Mr. Pimentel.
Internet connectivity is important for distance education, digital education, health care and other social services, banking services as well as information for disaster and emergency preparedness, he said.
In 2020 Mr. Pimentel wrote to SpaceX asking how the country could benefit from Starlink’s internet service, which was answered in a December 2021 meeting with SpaceX’s Vice President of Satellite Government Affairs Patricia Cooper.
Connectivity is very important for the Philippines because we are a country of almost 100 million people and live in more than 7,000 islands thus it is the duty of the government to ensure better and more equitable internet connections, said Mr. Pimental.
In early February the company announced that it is on track to enter the Philippine market within the first quarter after being delayed from a previous target of December 2022. SpaceX has commissioned Henry C Jr. and Anthony C. Partnered with Data Lake Inc., a Philippine data company owned by El Alameda.
Data Lake previously said that customers in the Philippines would pay $599 per unit for 200 megabytes per second download speeds and $99 for monthly connectivity service.
Users can visit Starlink’s website and enter their address in the country to check the availability of satellite internet service in their area with offered speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
The pricing for Starlink’s residential services comes with an upfront cost for the gear. The hardware required to avail the service will cost Rs 29,320, while users will have to make a monthly payment of Rs 2,700 after an initial trial period of 30 days.
Starlink states that users are not contracted to maintain a subscription to their service for any length of time. Shipping of the hardware will take an estimated two to three weeks after orders are placed.
While wired connections through traditional Internet service providers may be more accessible to many urban Internet users, Starlink may be an option to try in places that cannot easily obtain service.
The reusable rocket organization conveyed a tweet in Tagalog-English on February 22: “Accessible na nagayon ang Starlink sa Pilipinas Starlink is currently accessible in the Philippines alongside a guide that shows it is presently live across the archipelago which incorporates 7,640 islands.
Clients can now put orders for “starter unit” equipment to buy into the assistance.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 22, 2023
Last year, SpaceX was formed with Manila-based Data Lake, the largest retailer in the Philippines controlled by the Si family and Anthony Almeida.
In January, the company announced that customers interested in purchasing the hardware, satellite dishes and routers could place orders.
Customers can buy the kit online for Php29,230 ($530), which is then delivered to their address. There is also a monthly service fee of Php2,700 (about $49) after the 30-day trial period, Gadget Match reports.
The company’s website states that speeds between 50 and 200 Mbps will be available for users based in the Philippines.
Another Philippine regulation permitting 100 percent unfamiliar responsibility for ventures in the Philippines, including broadcast communications, has provoked Starlink to settle in the Philippines.
Manila’s telecommunications industry regulator gave the approval on Friday (May 27). Starlink could help boost existing Web service, especially in inaccessible and remote areas, as well as emergency response in the natural disaster-prone Southeast Asian nation.