By Scott Graham on Unsplash
Providing low-orbit satellite internet solutions to last mile communities which can then be used for education, communication and e-commerce. Business models can operate through providing short term loans to local governments for the internet as well as working in partnership with e-commerce solutions and generating proceeds through small service fees.
Installation of Starlink Internet improved the internet speed in Sta. Ana National High School in Barangay Sta. Ana, Pandan, and Antique, mainly through local funding, which is situated in one of the isolated barangays in the province. Before the installation, the school had a 20 Mbps WiFi connection with a slow download speed of 6.93 Mbps. After installing Starlink internet, initial speed tests demonstrated significant improvements, with download speeds ranging from 217.3 Mbps to 324.97 Mbps, and upload speeds increasing from 6.49 Mbps to 28.7 Mbps.
Remote communities in need of high-speed internet may take advantage of the satellite internet service provided by Starlink and have its cost shared among users. The cost of Starlink is around USD500 for each satellite dish and a monthly cost of around USD100 to USD200 while providing up to 200 Megabits per second (Mbps) of low latency internet service. (22)2
Kacific Internet: Kacific provides services from Kacific1, a Ka-band satellite that uses concentrated spot beams—from Batanes to Palawan and even all the way to Sulu which allows very effective geographic targeting, especially in mountainous areas. Kacific is being supported by companies such as SKY Perfect JSAT, The Boeing Company, and Marsh and Mclennan (22)
Non-Geostationary Satellite Constellations: The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) launched the Introducing Non-Geostationary Satellite Constellations Test Deployments to Improve Internet Service, or INCENTIVISE, project in 2020, supported by USAID. The project aims to determine the effectiveness of the emerging satellite internet technologies in the country. (23)
Increased internet connectivity for communities in remote areas to improve social and economic services including education of young people