Starlink, the satellite broadband division of SpaceX, is set to launch operations in Ecuador from 1 April. The Ministry for Telecommunications and Information Society (Mintel) announced earlier this week that Starlink’s satellite platform will provide broadband services to several rural and remote regions of the country, once all the regulatory requirements have been fulfilled. In the initial phase, services will be activated in the Galapagos Islands, benefitting the archipelago’s residents and the 250,000 tourists who visit each year.
In a press release announcing the launch, Telecommunications Minister Vianno Maino highlighted Starlink’s presence in Ecuador demonstrates the government’s commitment to creating up-to-date regulatory environments that attract investment in the sector. ‘These inclusive public policies, in turn, make it possible to reduce the digital divide in peripheral and difficult-to-access areas,’ she added.