Government eyes Starlink for free public WiFi program

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is tapping Starlink in its program to set up free internet services in areas that local telcos have yet to reach.

DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said that Starlink’s entry would enable the government to extend high-speed internet connectivity to underserved areas through the Broadband ng Masa.

“As we welcome this new technology that is Starlink, our Broadband ng Masa can now provide free and high-speed internet access to our geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines, ensuring that no Filipino will be left behind,” Uy said.

The DICT expects Starlink to shake the landscape of broadband competition in the country with the constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that it operates.

Uy said Starlink could focus on areas that local telcos find difficulty reaching.

Starlink, operated by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, launches LEO satellites into space that the firm uses to beam internet into the surface.

Since these units navigate the airspace, they can serve areas that are challenging to reach for telco providers dependent on land-based infrastructure.

Likewise, these satellites could sustain internet services even in times of calamity, unlike terrestrial assets that could get damaged by an earthquake or typhoon.

For these reasons, the DICT believes that Starlink could improve internet reliability in underserved areas as well as introduce connectivity in unserved locations.

Starlink operates more than 3,580 LEO satellites in space, but SpaceX committed to increase the constellation to up to 40,000 with its coverage areas expanding globally.

Starlink on Wednesday announced the availability of its broadband offering in the Philippines with an internet speed of up to 200 Mbps with just 20 ms in latency.

A Starlink dish costs P29,320 and its connectivity service P2,700 a month.

On the other hand, the government seeks to widen the reach of its Broadband ng Masa that aims to provide remote areas with free Wi-Fi connectivity.

The program currently manages a total of 4,385 sites in 73 provinces and Metro Manila across 601 cities and municipalities nationwide.

The Broadband ng Masa services an estimated four million users across the archipelago, hosting Wi-Fi sites in far-flung provinces like Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Pag-asa Island.

For 2023, the DICT has received P2.5 billion from the national government to develop its network of infrastructure supporting the Broadband ng Masa.