The Authority of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MST) has yet to receive a licence application for Starlink satellite internet services in Vietnam.
Nguyen Phong Nha, deputy general director of the Authority of Telecommunications, made the statement at a press briefing on August 5.
He added that Starlink has received approval from the government for testing in Vietnam. Currently, the authority is preparing the contents with related ministries to be able to approve the licence soon when SpaceX, the company that owns Starlink, submits the application to deploy immediately.
According to the MST, the Starlink service can be deployed three months after the licence is issued. Starlink is a low-orbit satellite internet system with 6,750 satellites flying at an altitude of 550 km. The service is available in more than 125 countries and territories, with five million users.
When the process is completed, Vietnam will be the fifth country in Southeast Asia to have Starlink satellite internet, after the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste.
According to Doan Quang Hoan, vice president of the Vietnam Radio and Electronics Association and former director of the Radio Frequency Department, satellite internet can quickly cover all the signal depressions in Vietnam, which the country is striving to do.
