A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 58 satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet network was launched on August 18.
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Photographer: Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Elon Musk’s The Starlink satellite broadband system has received licensing approval for its user terminals from the UK communications regulator, paving the way for the billionaire’s adventure to enter another important market.
The authorization was granted in November, an Ofcom spokesman said by email on Saturday. Greece, Germany and Australia also approved the new system, according to local reports.
Musk – now the richest man in the world – aims to deploy super-fast global coverage of the Internet to connect users beyond the reach of existing broadband networks, sending thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit.
Starlink has already launched hundreds of satellites and started testing a beta service in North America. Part of the billionaire Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, that shoots satellites into space.
The approval paves the way for Musk’s adventure to enter the British broadband market, where he could compete with UK terrestrial Internet providers like BT Group Plc and traditional satellite companies such as Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd. as well as OneWeb – the recently launched low-Earth orbit satellite system rescued from bankruptcy by the government and India telecommunications conglomerate Global Bharti.
Read more: Elon Musk’s big news is the broadband transmission of 40,000 satellites
Musk said in December that Starlink would likely be a candidate for an initial public offering once revenue growth became “reasonably predictable”. The United Kingdom’s approval was previously reported by the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
– With the help of Bill Lehane