Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), a company founded by Elon Musk, has announced that its low-earth satellite broadband internet service called Starlink is now live in the Philippines.
The Starlink service from SpaceX employs a network of low-earth orbit satellites to provide connectivity especially to remote areas that cannot be reached by traditional connectivity such as fiber or when communications are interfered with by natural catastrophes.
Starlink collaborated with regulators and the government under the previous administration in order to offer its services here in the country.
It has received the backing of former Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the National Telecommunications Commission as well as the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
SpaceX tweeted the statement “Available na ngayon ang Starlink sa Pilipinas (SpaceX is now available in the Philippines)” to make the announcement in local vernacular.
A link to the order form is included with the tweet so anyone interested in using the services can do so. The cost of satellite internet may be higher than that of a traditional connection.
According to the order form, Quezon City residents can have Starlink internet for P2,700 ($50) each month for the service and P29,320 ($530) for the hardware, which includes a satellite dish, excluding shipping fees.
The P5,500 ($100) monthly price that the DICT had previously announced has been reduced to the monthly amount that has been made public.
