Elon Musk Will Soon Bring High-Speed Internet in Australia

Starlink will give the other telcos a run for their money

Elon Musk is a step closer to bringing high-speed internet in Australia. His company, SpaceX, has gotten regulatory approval and is now on a special list. Being on this list is mandatory for foreign-owned satellite networks if they want to be licensed and hope to operate in Australia.

 

ACMA or Australian Communications and Media Authority announced the inclusion of SpaceX on Australia’s Foreign Space Objects Determination. It stated, “Inclusion in the determination does not confer a right on that entity to obtain a license, rather it is a prerequisite before a space apparatus licence can be issued.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has stated that Starlink, a network that consists of thousands of satellites, will be “the world’s most advanced broadband internet system.” SpaceX was one among several other companies that hope to launch constellations of small satellites.

 

The company’s website reads “Starlink will provide fast, reliable internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. Starlink is targeting service in the northern US and Canada in 2020, rapidly expanding to near-global coverage of the populated world by 2021.”

A few days after the approval, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It’s the fourth successful launch for the program.

 

The Director of Global Satellite Government Affairs, Matt Botwin, had written to ACMA in November last year. He stated that approval was a vital step forward in SpaceX’s plan to provide high-speed satellite-based broadband in Australia. He wrote “Inclusion … [on] the FSOD will allow the company to begin the process of seeking regulatory approval to operate in Australia, including obtaining the required space apparatus license.

 

The approval is good news for not only Elon Musk, who is often in the news due to Tesla, but it is great news for Aussies too. When Starlink is made available to customers, an antenna will be needed to make use of the service. Though the pricing has not been leaked yet, it is likely that the service will be low cost and might provide a speed of up to one GB per second.

Elon Musk’s plan to provide high-speed internet is a lifesaver for Aussies who are frustrated by the lagging NBN service.