By: Izza Belle Basubas
Starlink, a satellite-based internet provider from SpaceX was tapped by PBBM to boost national wifi capabilities. Photo courtesy of Inquirer.
President Marcos is aiming for a new partnership with Elon Musk’s internet provider, Starlink, to further boost and address internet connectivity concerns in the Philippines.
After his participation in the the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting held in San Francisco, Marcos met with the Filipino community in Los Angeles, California on Sunday wherein he announced about his tour of Musk's aerospace company SpaceX which operates Starlink and his goal to strike a new deal.
He further remarked on the benefit of the country's unique landscape for having a satellite broadband service such as Starlink.
“Our vast archipelago, which has 7,000 islands, is an ideal candidate for satellite broadband service and we look forward to improving broadband connectivity in the Philippines through Starlink and through all the others,” Marcos said..
The President also highlights that poor connectivity is one of the main problems in the country, but he looks forward to the partnership with Starlink, where there will no longer be complaints about internet services in the country.
"We are very confident that we will no longer hear complaints about our internet, our online services. We will instead be hearing praises for the speed of our country’s internet connectivity," the President added.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), more than 50 million Filipinos have access to the internet in 2020. However, even though the Philippines has strong infrastructure, it is behind most Southeast Asian countries in terms of internet strength and flexibility.
In the same year, the cybersecurity firm Surfshark cited the Filipino based Asian country as one of the nations with “least affordable” internet services.
The president ordered Ivan John Uy, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary, to ensure that the project would push through, as he emphasized the need to adopt and recognize the appropriate technology and bring it to the Philippines.
Partnership with Starlink’s satellite internet is an anticipated advantage to link hard-to-reach areas and far-flung areas which will help the Philippines to take full advantage of technology.