Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network will finally arrive in Latin America and the first country to enjoy its services will be Chile. The objective of this project is to offer Internet connection to territories where it is difficult to reach with fiber optics or a mobile network and it is increasingly present in more parts of the world.
Elon Musk distributed 100,000 terminals to carry out the first tests of the satellite network.
The Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile , Gloria Hutt, pointed out that they sought “to create the conditions so that users can have different connectivity alternatives , with high-speed connections that allow them to access online content anywhere in the country .”
To comply with the minister’s words, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications (Subtel) has given Starlink permission to operate commercially in Chile after several months of testing. Francisco Moreno, Undersecretary of Telecommunications, pointed out that they were ” facing a true milestone in terms of digital inclusion .”
Moreno highlighted that ” the interest of companies such as Starlink, Amazon and other low-orbit satellite providers reveals that Chile is an attractive country for investment in telecommunications, consolidating itself as a regional benchmark .”
Now, SpaceX must install five stations in the country to provide rural or isolated areas with a quality connectivity alternative. As reported, the places where the ground stations will be built will be Caldera, Coquimbo, San Clemente, Puerto Saavedra and Puerto Montt.
The system Elon Musk works through a satellite in low orbit that SpaceX launched and which enable fast connectivity and secure in territories where the Internet is generally very slow or even arrives.
Before Starlink obtained the license to commercialize its satellite network in Chile, they carried out some tests on August 6 in Satomó, a small town in the Los Lagos region. This municipality became the first in Latin America to have satellite Internet technology .
In the first days of testing, Subtel assured that the speed and latency of the Starlink connection was similar to that of a fixed Internet network, that is, from 100 to 200 mb. However, the students of the John F. Kennedy School (Chile) were able to play high definition videos, connect to educational platforms and make video calls without interruptions, something impossible in the past .
