SpaceX Starlink is now available in the Philippines, after the Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Koko Pimentel III wrote a letter to SpaceX founder Elon Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. Senator Pimentel shared a photograph of the letter he wrote in 2020 via Twitter this week. “[...] I am writing your good selves [sic] to explore how the Republic of the Philippines may be one of the first countries to be covered by Starlink connectivity,” he wrote, “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that ‘connectivity is life’. This is the reason why I believe coverage of the Philippines by the Starlink connectivity would be beneficial to our country.” 

"Connectivity is very important for the Philippines given that we are a nation of around 100 million people populating more than 7,000 islands. Furthermore, a substantial number of our citizens (around 10 million) are living and working outside of the country. Our citizens want and need to be in touch with one another and with their government through efficient and affordable means," wrote Pimentel to SpaceX, "Given the COVID-19 pandemic, our country will immensely benefit from pervasive connectivity as this can make possible effective contract tracing and quarantine monitoring, improved and accessible government services, enhanced communication, online education and learning, as well as enable our people to get back to work and to continue to trade in order to save our economy and stave off hunger and job destruction," says Pimentel's letter.  

STARLINK IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE PHILIPPINES!

This was made possible through the initiative of Senator Koko Pimentel, who sent a letter to Mr. Elon Musk, believing that Starlink coverage will benefit the country and the Filipino people. #ConnectivityIsLife pic.twitter.com/U3FPjkZI36

— Senator Koko Pimentel (@senkokopimentel) February 22, 2023

SpaceX announced on February 21, that people in the Philippines can now order the satellite internet service through the Starlink.com website. According to SpaceX’s Starlink Coverage Map, the Starlink satellites are capable of beaming internet service across all of the country, including to communities located near remote rainforests and on mountainous areas where terrestrial internet infrastructures are difficult and expensive to build. Starlink provides a more cost-effective solution for these remote communities to connect to a reliable broadband satellite network. A Starlink user simply connects the phased-array antenna and Wi-Fi router to an electricity source and in less than ten minutes they could have high-speed internet access. SpaceX operates approximately 3,683 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit that provide internet to over one million subscribers globally. As the company launches more satellites to orbit, it will expand coverage to more locations around the world.  

Available na ngayon ang Starlink sa Pilipinas → https://t.co/slZbTmZmAt pic.twitter.com/4pl3isvnYX

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 22, 2023

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Featured Image Source: NASA / SpaceX / Senator Koko Pimentel