Starlink Gets Nod To Provide Internet in Philippines (bloomberg.com) 9
Starlink has been authorized to provide satellite internet services in the Philippines, paving the way for the SpaceX unit's expansion to Southeast Asia. From a report: The Philippine National Telecommunications Commission said it approved Starlink's registration as a value-added service provider, according to a statement Friday. This would allow Starlink to directly access satellite systems, and to build and operate broadband facilities. The Philippines will be the first country in Southeast Asia to offer Starlink's high speed, low latency satellite internet service, the NTC said.
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I'm a little perplexed (Score:2)
I thought Starlink worked with the same model as Iridium: I buy a base station, it talks directly with the satellites, and there are no intermediaries. Why exactly does this need anyone's approval? And if not approved, how would they enforce any restrictions on using it? Other than, say, making it illegal to sell the base stations or for Filipinos to sign up for the service.
They're satellites. They're passing overhead no matter what the government wants. The radio signals can travel to and from the ground r
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Why exactly does this need anyone's approval?
Selling high powered radio transmitters always has required spectrum approval.
Iridium Sat Phones also require spectrum approval/licensing. If you sail into Indian waters with an Iridium Sat Phone they'll require that you put it in a Customs Bag and can't access it. India considers sat phones a national security risk because they want to be able to tap any phone in use in the country.
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India considers sat phones a national security risk because they want to be able to tap any phone in use in the country.
Maybe Indians should consider their government a risk to personal freedoms and privacy, and depose them accordingly.
Access to satellites should be universal and beyond the scope and reach of any one government to restrict. Their EMF radiation is limited to a local area and beamed up into space high up.
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First, you have to be able to legally operate the transceiver, as a customer. Second, until the next phase of Starlink all communications go from you to the sat back down to a base station near you, so Starlink had to be approved to open those facilities up and begin operating their transceivers.
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Communication licences; That is all...just like you cannot broadcast radio waves in a country before getting the required licenses for the frequency spectrum you are going to use...just because you are beaming from space does not change the law on the ground.
If they switch on their beam over a country without permission...it is a violation of that countries sovereignty and it is very directed beams. As compared to shortwave BBC for example...they can say they are beaming to some countries in Africa where th
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"I thought Starlink worked with the same model as Iridium: I buy a base station, it talks directly with the satellites, and there are no intermediaries. Why exactly does this need anyone's approval?"
Some countries don't like it when foreign countries send encrypted data from space to one of their 'citizens'.
Nod Brotherhood (Score:2)