Let me tell you now, it’s not going to be cheap and you shouldn’t really expect it to be.
We have been tracking Starlink for some time back when it was first announced. Its release was slated 30th June, before the next president sits inside the Malacañan Palace. While its papers, stations, and satellites are now ready, they won’t be available for public use until December 2022.
The company got approval from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to provide for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites within the country’s borders. These satellites offer internet speeds that are theoretically faster than Fiber internet connections. For Starlink, the company will offer download speeds ranging from 100Mbps to 200Mbps. The Philippines is also the first country in SEA to use satellite internet
The company also revealed the official price prior to the launch. The router kit would cost users an equivalent of USD 599 (~Php 33.4K) for the starter router kit, then USD 99 (~Php 5.5K) a month for the internet services without data cap. As satellite internet is a brand new concept, the pricing of its is still costly, and it’s not for everyone so it’s understandable.
The objective of using LEO satellites is to provide a nearly (if not completely) lag-free access to streaming, online gaming, conferencing, watching videos, streaming, and other high bandwidth tasks. These simultaneously has not been feasible for other internet satellite companies. If this is successful, Starlink would be one of the first (if not the first) to utilize such a technology.
“Starlink is expected to cover villages in urban and suburban areas as well as rural areas that remain unserved or underserved with internet access services. The service is expected to bring cost-effective internet access in these areas,” the NTC said.
By the way, take note that “cost-effective” does not necessarily mean “cheap” or “affordable”. It leans in more towards the value of a certain product, and a higher price with promised higher quality services or goods would mean that said goods or services are highly valuable. Starlink is one of them.
Source: GMA News
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