SpaceX is deploying the world’s most advanced internet infrastructure that consists of launching tens of thousands of broadband satellites that will beam internet down to user terminals at nearly the speed of light. The Starlink constellation will be capable of beaming internet everywhere on the planet, including the most isolated regions of Latin America.

SpaceX selected Chile as the first Latin American country to test Starlink internet service in rural communities earlier this year. “Starlink was designed for remote communities such as Caleta Sierra (Coquimbo Region) and Sotomó (Los Lagos Region),” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told SUBTEL telecommunication agency representatives in July. Starlink “high-speed connectivity can have a transformative impact on these communities and we are eager to support these pilot programs, starting with local schools,” Shotwell stated. The pilot program initiated in June/July; they connected a remote community that has around 20 families and a couple of schools in impoverished regions situated in Caleta Sierra and Sotomo. One of the Chilean schools that is using Starlink is named ‘John F. Kennedy', the students can now access reliable internet service. SpaceX delivered Starlink Kits that include a phased-array dish antenna to connect to the internet-beaming Starlink satellites in orbit, Wi-Fi router device, power and mounting equipment that is easy to install. The company collaborated with the government to provide free broadband internet service for one year, the Chilean municipalities agreed to cover the cost after the test period is over.

📡 ¡Starlink ya en Latinoamerica! 🌎

El colegio John F. Kennedy en Sotomó, Chile recibió una terminar Starlink de SpaceX, esto la convierte en la primera terminar Starlink instalada en Latinoamérica.

Via @larrypress pic.twitter.com/WLko4VXMmR

— Conexión Espacial (@conexionspacial) August 9, 2021

“Closing the digital divide in Chile requires innovation and that implies that we open ourselves to the implementation of new technologies that complement those already present in the country, such as fiber optic and 5G networks,” said the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt. “Sometimes our geography makes the deployment of traditional broadband networks complex. For this reason, we are proud that the Starlink company has chosen Chile as a pioneer country in Latin America to start the deployment of its satellite internet project, providing capacity and high-speed connectivity to two locations in the country,” she said when the pilot program initiated in July. 

Javier de la Barra, el maestro a cargo de la escuela de siete estudiantes dijo que "el servicio estará disponible tanto para los miembros de la comunidad como para los estudiantes y que se proporcionan tabletas para los estudiantes."

📷 AFP pic.twitter.com/bTl9vVB8Hq

— Conexión Espacial (@conexionspacial) August 9, 2021

Besides those two remote regions in Chile, SpaceX is working to provide Starlink across the entire nation. This week, SpaceX sent out e-mails to potential customers living in Chile informing that the Starlink Beta service is now available to order “in limited supply” across the country. The individual who shared this information lives in the province of Aysen, a sparsely populated area of southern Chile that has glaciers and snow-capped mountains. “Users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s [megabits per second] over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all,” the company wrote in Spanish (e-mail photo below), “As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically.” The company has plans to operate over 12,000 internet-beaming satellites, it currently operates approximately 1,740 satellites in low Earth orbit. For more information visit Starlink.com.  [Author’s Note: All quotes in this article were translated to English from original Spanish language.]

SpaceX indica que su servicio de internet Starlink ya está disponible en algunas partes del territorio nacional para ser adquirido de forma inmediata. Los usuarios que recibieron esta notificación de SpaceX viven en la provincia de Aysen y sus cercanías. https://t.co/tkb2hYq4Ja pic.twitter.com/ko5sZQVdOM

— Conexión Espacial (@conexionspacial) September 4, 2021

Featured Image Source: SpaceX e-mail to potential customers via Starlink.com.