Gov’t to connect rural areas via satellite Internet

We have to go through a procurement process, and we cannot start with the procurement process unless we have proposals sent out in terms of reference and so on. We are preparing those, but in the meantime, they need to get their earth stations, equipment and operations running

The Marcos administration will connect difficult-to-reach areas in the Philippines with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to bring inclusive growth to the unserved and underserved communities.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it would subsidize the rollout of Starlink — the low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services — in far-flung areas by the first quarter of 2023.

“The challenge has always been that these far-flung areas do not have broadband connectivity because the telcos find it unsuitable and not feasible to invest in those areas. The government will have to come in,” DICT secretary Ivan John Uy told reporters in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“We do have funds to deploy this free WiFi program. And we will work with the local governments on how we can not only set up the equipment, set up the connectivity, and provide the linkage but look at how these could be sustainable,” he added.

The DICT said it coordinates with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to prioritize geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA).

“We have to go through a procurement process, and we cannot start with the procurement process unless we have proposals sent out in terms of reference and so on. We are preparing those, but in the meantime, they need to get their earth stations, equipment, and operations running,” Uy said.

A Starlink kit costs $599 or approximately P33,000, and monthly internet services with no data cap cost $99 or about P5,5000. It boasts up to 200 Mbps speeds and latency as low as 20ms for residential use. The Philippines sets to be the first in Southeast Asia to avail of such technology.

SpaceX Executive Rebecca Hunter said Starlink is scheduled to launch its services in the country by the end of the year.

“Starlink will make an impact in the Philippines. Hopefully, we will be providing our services by the end of the year. We see it as complementary to the services of the current providers and not a competitor,” Hunter said.

She added that Starlink could fill in the ‘gaps’ especially in the unserved and underserved areas in the country to expand connectivity further.

The Starlink constellation consists of over 1,600 satellites in mid-2021 and will eventually comprise thousands more mass-produced small satellites in LEO, which communicate with designated ground transceivers.