Telecommunication and cable television service provider Converge ICT Services says that finalizing its planned deal with SpaceX for access to Starlink could be pushed back to 2022. Converge is a major telecommunications provider in the Philippines.
Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony Uy made the announcement in a virtual briefing. He says that the deal may be delayed because SpaceX has been prioritizing Starlink access for other areas, such as the United States, Canada, and the UK. In some of these areas, SpaceX has been pursuing relationships with the federal government to assist with broadband Internet infrastructure development.
Technical studies for a potential partnership are already being conducted, even though Converge officials say that a finalized deal could be as much as a year and a half away. Such a deal is likely to include improved Internet access for remote access in the Philippines.
“To be able to complement the whole segment of the market is very important. Those who are not reachable by our network, this is the way. We need to partner with new technology,” said Uy.
Satellite Internet services have been promoted as a way to reach areas in which reliable Internet access has been lacking. The United States and UK are currently pursuing programs that could improve the infrastructure for Internet access in rural or low-income areas, both of which SpaceX has bid on. SpaceX has also indicated a willingness to work with local government entities like a school district in Texas to provide access for low-income families and may launch lower-cost plans for low-income customers once Starlink comes out of beta.
The satellite Internet access market is quite competitive and often cutthroat, with SpaceX having to fend off obstacles such as ViaSat’s regulatory challenge of its Starlink constellation on environmental grounds. This has caused some grumbling from SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk.
On the flip side, Uy says that the tens of thousands of Starlink satellites that SpaceX plans to orbit could be beneficial to providing better access to places like the hard-to-reach regions in the Philippines.
“I don’t think that will happen this year, because you need the preparation of the earth station. In fact, you need to have a fiber-connected with an earth station to be able to have a right penetration and uplink and downlink to the satellite,” he said.
SpaceX plans for its Starlink constellation to provide high-speed, low-latency satellite Internet service. To that end, it has recently received approval from the FCC to send some Starlink satellites into a lower orbit despite complaints from competitors that it might interfere with their own ability to send satellites into orbit. Starlink satellites have the capacity to maneuver to avoid collisions.
While Converge has indicated that there will be a delay in finalizing its deal with SpaceX, it has allocated most of its planned 20 billion Philippine pesos in expenditures this year toward developing its backbone and deployment of additional fiber-to-the-home ports. This will put it in a better position to finalize its deal with SpaceX for improved access to the Internet for the Philippines.
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