ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s telecommunication regulator has granted a telecommunications service provider license to a locally incorporated firm of Starlink satellite system founded by Elon Musk, billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said.
The island nation last month amended its Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Act to accommodate the Starlink satellite system.
“The TRCSL has granted a Telecommunications Service Provider License to STARLINK LANKA (PVT) LTD to provide Satellite Broadband Services in SL from August 12, 2024,” the President’s Media Division said in a statement.
The island nation granted preliminary approval for Starlink to provide satellite-based internet services in the country, following a formal public consultation process.
The move was initiated after President Wickremesinghe met Musk on the sidelines of the 10th World Water Forum in Indonesia three months ago.
The new amendment to the TRC Act was passed last month to introduce infrastructure service licence, telecommunication service licence and cable landing station licence.
The collaboration with Starlink is expected to provide internet facilities via satellite technology, marking a significant transformation in the technology sector with a fast internet service.
Starlink is not yet established as a telephone network company in Sri Lanka.
Starlink is a low earth orbit satellite network, connected to Musk’s SpaceX group.
The network connects around 3 million people with high-speed internet across nearly 100 countries, territories and other markets. (Colombo/August 13/2024)