Colombia’s government approves Starlink. The approval is intended to encourage the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet of Things or 5G.
Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC) has granted operating license to Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink to operate in Colombia. With the help of the technology, regions of the country that are difficult to access in particular are to be connected to the Internet. The government also hopes that the approval will encourage the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet of Things or 5G in Colombia.
“On our way to close the digital divide from all points of view, the entry of this new company into the country will mean a significant improvement in the connectivity of the regions, because thanks to the satellite technology of players like Starlink, the market offer will expand, and thanks to the in of the benefits of the new regulation, the funds that MinTIC no longer receives in the form of payments for the use of frequencies can be reinvested to improve the service for the end user,” Colombian newspapers quoted the responsible minister, Carmen Ligia Valderrama Rojas, as saying.
hoped for modernization
The approval was granted on the basis of Resolution 376 (PDF), which introduces a new satellite regime for the country, which aims to modernize the sector and update the parameters for compensation for spectrum use. Starlink’s license to use the spectrum for satellite services may be used, inter alia, for the transmission of radio, television and cellular networks.
In the medium term, the government hopes that new players such as Starlink will increasingly enter the country, while the companies already working with this technology in Colombia are likely to modernize their services.
Starlink in the Amazon and the Ukraine War
SpaceX’s Starlink project to build an interconnected internet network of thousands of satellites is an ambitious project by Elon Musk that aims to bring high-speed internet to consumers around the world. Late last year, Brazil’s government negotiated with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet to the Amazon.
Starlink is now also available in Ukraine. A few days after Russia’s attack, the service went live and thousands of antennas were delivered. According to the Ukrainian government, more than 150,000 people connect to the Internet via Starlink every day. In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces use the technology in drone warfare against Russian tanks and troops. According to reports, the Bundeswehr is also interested in Starlink.
(akn)
