President Marcos Jr. is eyeing an alliance between the Philippines and United States technology giant Starlink to improve internet connectivity in the country.
The President toured the SpaceX facility in Los Angeles on November 18 before he met with the Filipino community, his last activity in the city before he flew to Hawaii for the last leg of his weeklong visit to the US.
Gwynne Shotwell and Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX president and chief operating officer and vice president for operations, respectively, welcomed Marcos, who was accompanied by Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy, during the facility visit.
The President instructed Uy to ensure the project with Starlink will push through as he emphasized the need to recognize the appropriate technology, and to adopt and bring it to the Philippines.
Marcos, who had been pushing for the digitization of the Philippines, said using the Starlink’s technology especially in digitalization, communication and connectivity would be very beneficial for the Philippines especially given its vast archipelago.
“Our vast archipelago, our 7,000 islands, that vast archipelago 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,” he told the Filipino community in Los Angeles.
The President said at present, the Philippines has an existing satellite for communications which is expected to boost the country’s connectivity and eventually increase people’s productivity.
Marcos, however, said adopting and using all new technologies will make the services in the Philippines more effective and more efficient, and eventually make the country more productive.
He said it will also provide solutions to the challenges that the new era of digitalization brings.
“In the Philippines, sometimes we still hear about ‘the internet is weak,’ but in the near future through these links that we were able to develop on this trip, we are very confident that we will no longer hear complaints about our internet, our online services. We will instead be hearing phrases for the speed of our country’s internet connectivity,” he added.
Starlink’s satellite internet is touted to have significant advantages with respect to connecting to areas that are difficult to reach like rural communities and island provinces and barangays.
As it beams internet signals directly from space, the company ensures wider and better coverage without the need for extensive infrastructure thus more cost-efficient.
