19-5-2024 (JAKARTA) Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk arrived on the idyllic Indonesian island of Bali on Sunday, 19th May, ahead of the highly anticipated launch of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. The innovative satellite-based system holds the promise of bolstering internet connectivity and enhancing healthcare services in even the most remote regions of the vast Indonesian archipelago.
Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, was on hand to welcome the tycoon as his private jet touched down at Bali’s airport on Sunday morning. According to Pandjaitan’s Instagram post, the two were set to discuss several significant collaborations, including the inauguration of Starlink.
Achieving equal internet access across the vast expanse of Southeast Asia’s most populous nation, home to over 270 million people spanning three time zones, would enable those in remote areas to enjoy the same lightning-fast internet speeds as their urban counterparts, Pandjaitan stated.
Later on Sunday afternoon, Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and electric vehicle giant Tesla, is scheduled to officially launch Starlink alongside Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a community health centre in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.
Last week, Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi confirmed to Reuters that the satellite division of Musk’s SpaceX had already secured the necessary permits to operate in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Starlink has been granted permission to function as an internet service provider for retail consumers and has received the green light to provide networks, having obtained a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) permit.
Indonesia becomes the third country in Southeast Asia where Starlink will be operational, following Malaysia, which issued the firm a license to provide internet services last year, and the Philippines, where a local company signed a deal with SpaceX in 2022.
Starlink’s services are already in extensive use in Ukraine, where it is employed by the military, hospitals, businesses, and aid organisations. In February, the country urged SpaceX to take measures to prevent Russia from utilising Starlink terminals for communications in areas occupied by Moscow’s troops.
