The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) led the transfer of six Starlink satellite kits to the local government unit (LGU) of Dingalan, Aurora, and Apad-Jomalig National High School in Jomalig, Quezon.
In a statement on Friday, Aug. 18, PhiSA said that the turnover ceremony was conducted in its main office in Eastwood, Quezon City.
The ceremony was facilitated by Michael Bell, Chief Strategic Officer of Data Lake Inc. (an authorized reseller of Starlink in the Philippines), and was presented to PhilSA, led by Director General Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr. on Aug. 14.
During the transfer ceremony, the recipients were accompanied by representatives from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the United States Agency for International Development Better Access and Connectivity (USAID-BEACON), who participated to show support toward the project, "which aims to deploy and demonstrate emerging satellite connectivity technologies to benefit rural communities in the Philippines."
INCENTIVISE project
The turnover ceremony is under the Introducing Non-Geostationary Satellite Constellations Test Deployments to Improve Internet Service (INCENTIVISE) initiatives which aimed to bring space technology closer to Filipinos.
Marciano highlighted that the PhilSA is also able to reach the farthest communities to deliver rich content and services like “low Earth orbit satellite Internet constellations such as Starlink, to provides a new way of bridging remote areas of our country, and with the high speed and reliable connectivity in place.”
“We have taken our next step where we will be using the connectivity to hold seminars and training sessions on the use of satellite images for local officials and conducting lectures on space science and technology for the teachers and students in these communities,” PhilSA director general said.
“We thank Data Lake, SpaceX, USAID-BEACON, DOST-ASTI, and DICT for their collaboration and pivotal role in the implementation of INCENTIVISE,” he added.
Moreover, the INCENTIVISE Project held a successful satellite Internet public demonstration in Dingalan and Jomalig on April 21.
During the demonstration, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, and DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy expressed their support for the project.
The formal handover ceremony underscored the "synergy and collective drive" of the government, international organization and the private sector as reflected in the framework of the INCENTIVISE Project.
This framework is instrumental in shaping a more interconnected future for all Filipinos. (Sonny Daanoy)