A few months back we found out several SpaceX officials had visited the Philippines to explore the expansion of both Starlink and SpaceX operations in the country. They met with government officials including Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, Sen. Manny Pacquiao and DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Press releases from government officials have cited that the country will be the first in Southeast Asia to be onboarded with SpaceX’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) internet satellite service.
What we know is that these are currently in the works:
- SpaceX’s business permit application is already being processed while the company is looking for locations for its internet gateways. The province of Bataan has been aggressively pursuing the possibility of the gateway being setup in their locality.
- SpaceX will be setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Southeast Asian country, and aiming to deploy three gateways in the first phase of their launch. This is thanks to the latest trade/foreign investment liberalization of existing corporate ownership laws in the Philippines.
Philippines Now on the Map
When you head over to Starlink’s Map on their website, you could see the Philippines shaded in a dark blue color.
According to the map legend, this means that the Starlink service is “Coming Soon: Pending service coverage or regulatory approval.”
Moving your cursor on the Philippines will show “Starting Q4 2022” signifying the target date of service to start on the 4th Quarter — anytime between October to December of 2022.
This is exciting news for Filipinos yearning for innovative and faster internet access services. Especially for individuals and businesses located in the rural areas where many of the local telcos have failed to provide internet access for far too long.
If you haven’t yet, you may want to pre-order your Starlink already!
Let’s stay tuned for more updates!