Starlink expected to enter Philippines by Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Starlink is set to offer its space-based broadband to Filipinos within the first quarter of the year, as it eyes to persuade fellow telco players from the US to invest in the Philippines as well.

Sy-led Data Lake Inc. said Filipinos could start availing of Starlink services on or before March, complying with its commitment of operating in the Philippines within the first semester.

Data Lake of billionaire Henry Sy Jr. is the domestic partner of Starlink and is tasked to process the requirements for its entry in the Philippines.

Sy, together with Data Lake CEO Anthony Almeda, paid President Marcos a visit last Thursday to inform him that Starlink would be available in the commercial market within the first quarter.

Data Lake managed to speed up Starlink’s entry in the country with the assistance of regulators.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has approved the request of Starlink to classify its user terminals as customer premise equipment.

With this, Starlink no longer needs to apply for radio station licensing that has to be secured from the government every year.

NTC director Imelda Walcien said the agency decided to streamline Starlink’s entry in support of the President’s directive to prioritize investments that seek to improve connectivity nationwide.

“Starlink will go through the same process for registration and licensing, but fees, requirements and frequency that apply are different. In effect, Starlink would undergo a stricter procedure had it gone for radio station licensing. That is a yearly requirement,” Walcien told The STAR.

“With the classification of Starlink’s user terminals as customer premise equipment, we relaxed the outcome for the firm because it became easier, simpler and cheaper to process,” she added.

Also, Data Lake hopes that the investment made by Starlink would encourage US-based telcos to locate in the Philippines as well.

The US government even asked Starlink to expedite its expansion to compel its competitors to explore opportunities in the country.

Starlink was supposed to enter the Philippine market by December 2022, but delayed that plan to the first semester of 2023 on delays in the launch of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Starlink deploys LEO satellites into space to beam Internet to the surface.

Starlink – operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX – is set to offer its satellite equipment at $599 per unit and broadband service at $99 monthly, promising a download speed of 200 Mbps with latency of just 20 ms.

“We are excited to finally introduce Starlink to the Philippine market by the first quarter of 2023. The high speed and low latency broadband Internet service through the use of satellites will be game changing in connecting our 7,640 islands to the rest of the world. This will also be in line with the President’s push for greater digitalization,” Almeda said.