A RESOLUTION urging the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to provide Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet Services Philippines, Inc. a temporary license to operate was filed at the House of Representatives last week.
Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda wants the NTC to give Starlink a provisional authority to build, own, and operate satellite ground radio stations for at least a year, while its franchise is undergoing the legislative mill, according to House Joint Resolution No. 21 filed on January 23.
“Starlink Philippines was the first accredited Satellite Systems Provider and Operator in the Philippines and the first wholly foreign-owned company authorized to provide internet access services to Filipinos,” Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barga said in House Concurrent Resolution No. 40, which was filed on January 22.
Starlink is a satellite internet service of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX). According to its website, SpaceX continues to launch satellites into orbit to bring high-speed broadband to rural and remote areas.
Bills seeking to provide Starlink a 25-year franchise to operate have been filed at the Senate and House of Representatives last year. Both versions require Starlink to improve internet access to areas with scant connections, while also hiring residents near where a satellite station would be constructed.
Starlink’s domestic internet service operations started in Feb. 2023 and is currently operating under accreditations provided by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission. – Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio