The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 58 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet network launches on Aug.18.
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Elon Musk’s Starlink’s satellite broadband system has been licensed for its customers by the UK communications regulator, paving the way for the billionaire’s venture to enter another major market.
The permit was issued in November, an Ofcom spokesman said by email on Saturday. Greece, Germany and Australia have also agreed to the new system, according to local reports.
Musk – now an the richest man in the world – aims to deliver high-speed global internet coverage to connect users beyond the reach of existing broadband networks by sending thousands of satellites into low earth orbit.
Starlink has already launched hundreds of satellites and started testing a beta service in North America. It is part of billions Space Exploration Technologies Corp., also known as SpaceX, which fires the satellites into space.
The agreement paves the way for Musk’s bid to enter the British broadband market where it could compete with UK terrestrial internet providers such as BT Group Plc and traditional satellite companies such as Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd., as well as OneWeb – the recent low ground orbit satellite system was saved from bankruptcy by the government and India telecommunications conglomerate Bharti Global.
Read More: Elon Musk ‘s new flagship is 40,000 satellites carrying broadband
Musk he stated in December that Starlink would be likely to be a candidate for an initial public offering once its revenue growth was “reasonably foreseeable. The UK’s agreement was reported earlier by the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
– Supported by Bill Lehane