SpaceX’s unit Starlink secures Indonesia operating permit

THE satellite unit of Elon Musk’s SpaceX has secured a permit to operate in Indonesia, the communications minister told Reuters on Wednesday (May 8).

Starlink had obtained a permit to operate as an Internet service provider for retail consumers and had been given the go-ahead to provide networks, having received a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) permit, minister Budi Arie Setiadi said in an interview.

Indonesia is the third country in South-east Asia where Starlink will operate. Malaysia issued the firm a licence to provide Internet services last year and a Philippine-based firm signed a deal with SpaceX in 2022.

“Starlink has met all the requirements needed to commercially operate in Indonesia,” Budi said without providing details on the investment value.

The company will conduct a trial in Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, this month and the launch is expected afterwards, Budi said. The trial will last for a week, he added.

Starlink will cooperate with local network access providers when operating in Indonesia to comply with the country’s regulations.

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The government expects Starlink to provide Internet services to Indonesia’s remote areas, he added.

Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX’s Starlink, which owns around 60 per cent of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth, is dominant in the satellite Internet sphere. REUTERS