The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has approved the registration of Elon Musk's Starlink Internet Services Philippines Inc. as a value-added service (VAS) provider, the regulator announced Friday, May 27.
"The NTC’s swift processing of Starlink’s VAS provider registration was meant to expedite the service’s immediate roll-out,” the commission stated.
NTC issued the VAS license half an hour after the submission of the application with complete requirements.
“The NTC is steadfast in helping ensure that roll-out of Starlink’s internet access services will be done expeditiously and professionally,” according to NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba.
The VAS registration allows the company to “directly access satellite systems, build, and operate broadband facilities to offer internet services.”
Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, has over 1,500 low-Earth orbit satellites.
Now, the Philippines will be the first Southeast Asian country to have Starlink as a service provider.
Starlink services involve high-speed low latency satellite internet with download speed of between 100 to 200 Megabits per second (Mbps) at cost-effective rates.
Starlink can provife internet in urban and suburban areas, along with rural areas with unserved or undeserved internet access services.
State officials hope SpaceX can launch its first gateway in the country before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends this June.