- The service aims to enhance internet access in Indonesia, an archipelagic state with over 17,000 islands.
- Musk emphasized the importance of internet connectivity for learning and business.
- Three Indonesian health centers launched Starlink services.
Arriving in Bali by private jet on Sunday morning, Musk, the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla, attended Starlink’s launch at a community health center in the provincial capital Denpasar.
Sporting a green batik shirt, he, along with Sadikin, Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, and Maritime and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, inaugurated Starlink. He stated that the satellite service would assist millions in Indonesia in accessing the internet.
“We’re focusing this event on Starlink and the benefits that high-bandwidth connectivity can bring to a rural island and to remote communities,” Musk told reporters in Denpasar.
“I think it’s really important to emphasize the importance of internet connectivity and how much of a life-changer that could be.”
Indonesia, an archipelagic state consisting of over 17,000 islands, houses more than 270 million people and spans three different time zones. Following the launch, Musk emphasized that internet connectivity was also crucial for learning and business.
“You can learn anything if you’re connected to the internet, but if you’re not connected, it’s very difficult to learn,” Musk said. “And then if you have some virtual services that you wish to sell to the world, even if you’re in a remote village, you can now do so with an internet connection. So, it can bring a lot of prosperity, I think, to rural communities.”
On Sunday, officials launched Starlink services at three Indonesian health centers, two of which are located in Bali and one on the remote island of Aru in Maluku. They announced a prioritization of services for health and education, particularly in outer and underdeveloped regions. Indonesia marks the third Southeast Asian country where Starlink will operate, following Malaysia, which issued the firm a license to provide internet services last year, and the Philippines, where a local firm signed a deal with SpaceX in 2022.
Sadikin stated that Starlink would bring high-speed connectivity to thousands of health centers across the country, enabling Indonesians in remote areas to access services that were previously unavailable to them.
“With Starlink … 2,700 community health centers that had difficulties getting internet access and another 700 that didn’t have internet access, now can have them. "So, the services will not differ with health centers … that are located in the cities,” stated the health minister.
Observers anticipate that the arrival of Starlink in Indonesia will enhance equal internet access across Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
“A satellite-based internet service like Starlink will certainly be very beneficial for the country because there are still many regions that don’t have internet access,” said Pratama Persadha, chairman of the Communication and Information System Security Research Center.
He added that Starlink will also boost other sectors in Indonesia, such as education and the digital economy.
“Wherever the location that requires a good internet connection, whether on top of the mountain, in the middle of the forest, or in the middle of the sea, they can still enjoy the internet through satellite-based services like this.”
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