SpaceX links up with Filipino partners

Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is set to roll out its high-speed satellite internet services in the Philippines next year. According to the Speedtest Global Index, our country currently ranks 64th in the world for fixed broadband speed and 72nd in terms of mobile internet speed.

Bloomberg recently reported that Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, is in talks with two Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-listed telecommunication companies to launch its ultra-fast satellite broadband in an archipelago beset by slow speeds and poor connectivity. It identified these two telcos to be Transpacific Broadband Group International, Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.

DFNN, Inc., another PSE-listed firm, was mentioned earlier this year in connection with Starlink’s entry into the country. Bilyonaryo.com said DFNN Chairman Ramon C. Garcia, Jr. “is serving as SpaceX’s go-between with the Senate, which is finalizing its amendments to the Public Service Act.”

Starlink uses advanced satellites in a low orbit of 550 kilometers to enable streaming, video calls, online gaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet. Its potential users can expect to experience download speeds between 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps, with latency as low as 200 milliseconds in most locations.

Rural communities that have gone unserved by the traditional internet service providers will finally gain access to essential online services and resources through Starlink, including virtual doctor visits and remote learning. Fine examples of Starlink’s deployments are the Pikangikum First Nation, an indigenous community in Canada; the Hoh Tribe in Washington, USA; and the Wise County Public Schools in Virginia, USA.

During disasters, the Starlink team can easily be deployed in a matter of minutes to support emergency responders, especially in areas where connectivity has been unreliable, too expensive, or completely unavailable. Starlink’s satellites are also on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation. At end of life, these satellites will utilize their on-board propulstion system to de-orbit over the course of a few months.

In the unlikely event that the propulsion system becomes inoperable, the satellites will burn up in earth’s atmosphere within one to five years — significantly less than the hundreds or thousands of years at higher altitudes.

Considered as the world’s most advanced broadband system, Starlink is presently available in more than 20 countries. Its parent firm, SpaceX, is the only satellite operator with the capability to launch its own satellites as needed.

If only the Philippine Congress could fast-track the passage of amendments to the Public Service Act of 1936, which would hasten the advent of ultra-fast internet services in our benighted land.

J. Albert Gamboa is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and co-chairman of the FINEX Week Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and BusinessWorld.