Removing the fog about Elon Musk’s Starlink

The tech space of the country rejoiced a few weeks ago by the news that Elon Musk’s Starlink was granted NTC approval to operate in the Philippines. They will go up against Globe, PLDT, and Converge among others in providing internet for Filipinos. Apart from being a creation of the charismatic Elon Musk, what exactly separates Starlink from its would-be competitors?

Who is Starlink?

Starlink is an internet provider that aims to provide low-latency, high-speed internet connection even in remote areas. They do this by utilizing low orbit satellites above the Earth in transmitting data compared to other internet service providers that use underground cables or huge cell towers in data transfer. 

This is why there are many unserved places in rural areas. In order to reach their location, there would be a massive undertaking to lay down the groundwork on the cables. By having satellites do the data transfer, it would be easier to reach more areas. 

Not in competition with other internet providers

“Their system will augment as well as complement existing broadband capacities. This will further capacitate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), facilitate online learning, e-commerce, and fintech” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a press release from the agency. Lopez’s statement may sound confusing but the same thought was said by Elon Musk back in 2020. 

“I want to be clear, it’s not like Starlink is some huge threat to telcos. I want to be super clear it is not. In fact, it will be helpful to telcos because Starlink will serve the hardest-to-serve customers that telcos otherwise have trouble doing with landlines or even cell towers,” Musk said in a report by Ars Technica. 

This boils down to the satellite’s capacity to transfer data seamlessly. In highly dense areas, there are interference from other digital signals and obstruction of taller buildings. If you’re living in a condo apartment, all the more it is not recommended. This is why for cities with established internet connection, broadband is still the way to go. 

How fast is it? 

In a report by Ookla, they said that Starlink averaged 100+ mbps download speeds in Q4 last year. It also has minimal lag with its 40 milliseconds of latency, which Musk says to be good enough for competitive gaming. 

For the Philippines, the National Telecommunications Commission said that Starlink will provide 100-200 mbps speeds. Elon Musk also tweeted last year that he expects speeds to climb up to 300mbps by the end of 2021 but that hasn’t happened yet, although there are some reviews out there that claim they can reach up to 450mbps on a good day. 

The question now is, how much will this cost? 

In the US, Starlink started at $99 per month, on top of the $499 one time fee for the equipment necessary to utilize the satellites. Lately though, they’ve increased this to $110 and $599 respectively because of inflation. That’s almost P32,000 for the equipment and P5,900 for the monthly fee. Although when I tried to sign up for a reservation using my location in Quezon City, they’re only billing me $99 for the reservation, which is usually the same price of the subscription. 

Who is it for?

The $99 (or $110) monthly fee already sits at the premium end of things. Even if we put the one-time fee for the equipment aside, the monthly subscription for Starlink’s service is still too heavy on the budget of the common Filipino, especially in the rural areas. 
In another tweet by Musk, he said that “one Starlink can provide internet for an entire school with hundreds of students.” It looks like Starlink can indeed be the savior to the rural areas to help them connect to the world, but it boils down to who will handle the subscription. DTI Secretary Lopez was right in saying that this will help MSMEs, and so do other households in far flung areas. But for Starlink to do what it aims for, local government units have to step in and provide the necessary budget to establish a connection. It will be a big help if they can put a satellite in schools, hospitals, and even baranggay halls.