Filipinos in remote areas are now a little bit closer to the digital world.
Thanks to space internet technologies brought by SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Elon Musk’s spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider, and satellite communications company.
Six Starlink internet kits have been handed over to the local governments of Dingalan, Aurora, and Apad-Jomalig National High School in Jomalig, Quezon
The internet kits are part of the INCENTIVISE (Introducing Non-Geostationary Satellite Constellations Test Deployments to Improve Internet Service) Project of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
INCENTIVISE is meant to deploy and demonstrate emerging satellite internet technologies to benefit rural communities.
SpaceX’s Starlink has joined the project as part of its commitment to deploy high-speed Internet kits to the country’s isolated communities.
The INCENTIVISE Project conducted a successful satellite internet public demonstration in Dingalan and Jomalig last April, generating interest and demand from remote communities and schools.
During Space Week in mid-August, internet kits were handed over by Data Lake, the authorized reseller of Starlink in the Philippines.
“Low Earth Orbit satellite Internet constellations such as Starlink provide a new way of bridging remote areas of our country, and with the high speed and reliable connectivity in place, PhilSA is able to reach the farthest communities to deliver rich content and services,” said Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., PhilSA director-general.
“We have taken our next step where we will be using the connectivity to hold 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,” Mariano said.
INCENTIVISE, started in 2020, aims to determine the effectiveness of emerging satellite internet technologies in the country. Low-orbit satellite “constellations” are emerging space science and technology applications which have distinct roles because of their closer proximity to the Earth.
