DICT: Gov't to subsidize Starlink connectivity of remote areas

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the government will be shouldering the cost of deploying and connecting far-flung communities to Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (SpaceX) low earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet connectivity known as Starlink services.
“The challenge has always been that these far-flung areas do not have broadband connectivity because the telcos find it not suitable. It’s not feasible for them to make those kinds of investments in those areas,” Information Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy said in a press briefing in Manila on Wednesday.
Uy, however, admitted that people in far-flung communities who “are on the sadder end of the digital divide” cannot afford SpaceX’s Starlink services.
Starlink Internet Services Philippines Inc. representative Rebecca Hunter said the cost of its LEO internet service is at a one-time equipment purchase of $599 (about P33,000) for a satellite dish and router and $99 (about P5,500) monthly subscription.
Starlink Philippines is a wholly owned subsidiary of American tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company secured the thumbs up of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as a Value-Added Service (VAS) provider in May.
Due to the high cost of SpaceX-Starlink’s services, the DICT chief said, “The government will have to come in.”
“We do have funds in order to deploy this free WiFi program,” he said.
“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 also look at how these could be sustainable,” he added.
The DICT chief said the agency is working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to identify GIDAs or geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas where the LEO satellite internet service will be deployed.
Starlink is eyeing to launch its LEO satellite internet services in the country by December.
Uy said the government-funded deployment of Starlink LEO internet services in far-flung areas or GIDAs will be by the first quarter of 2023.
The funding for the proposal will be included in the 2023 budget of the DICT, he said, noting that the agency is working on a proposal to be submitted to Congress for its plan to roll out Starlink internet service in far-flung areas.
“We have to go through the procurement process. We cannot start with the procurement process unless we have proposals sent out in terms of reference and so on,” Uy said.
The DICT chief said the government can shoulder the cost of Starlink internet services in far-flung areas “until such time there is an economic upliftment in the communities.”
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 40 countries that aims for global coverage. Engineered by SpaceXStarlink, it boasts speeds of up to 200 Mpbs and latency as low as 20ms for residential use.
The NTC earlier said the Starlink service offers high speed low latency satellite internet service with download speed between 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to 200Mbps.
Using advanced satellites in a low orbit, the agency said Starlink will enable video calls, online gaming, streaming and other high data activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet.
Starlink is expected to cover villages in urban and suburban areas and rural areas that remain unserved or underserved with internet access services.
“The DICT is closely following the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., that is to provide digital connectivity across the many islands of the Philippines by building the country’s digital infrastructure, that will also lead to effective e-governance,” Uy said.
“This will bridge the digital divide in the country especially in an archipelagic country like the Philippines where laying fiber cables or establishing cell towers in mountainous areas can be challenging,” he added.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier announced that the Philippines is set to be the first country in Southeast Asia to avail of the Starlink technology. —LBG, GMA News