A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with 58 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet network will be launched on August 18.
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Elon Musk’s Starlink’s satellite broadband system has been licensed by the UK communications regulator for its user terminals, paving the way for the billionaire’s venture to enter another important market.
The authorization was granted in November, an Ofcom spokesman said by email Saturday. According to local reports, Greece, Germany and Australia have also approved the new system.
Musk – now the Richest Man in the World – Aims to roll out global high-speed 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 has begun testing a beta service in North America. It’s part of the billionaire Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, that shoots the satellites into space.
The approval paves the way for Musk’s venture to enter the UK broadband market, where it could compete with terrestrial UK internet providers such as BT Group Plc and traditional satellite companies such as Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd., as well as OneWeb – the satellite system in low Earth orbit saved from bankruptcy by the government and India telecom conglomerate Bharti Global.
Read more: Elon Musk’s new big thing is 40,000 satellites radiating broadband
Musk said in December that Starlink is likely to be eligible for an IPO once revenue growth becomes “reasonably predictable”. The British approval was previously reported by the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
– With help from Bill Lehane