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Uzbekistan Woos Starlink, OneWeb to Bring Satellite Broadband

Uzbekistan is trying to woo Starlink
and OneWeb to bring their satellite
broadband services to Central Asia’s
most populous country. The overture is
part of the Uzbek government’s efforts
to strengthen the nation’s information
technology competitiveness and provide
better communications services to
underserved remote areas. Ranking
officials recently met with the Starlink
and OneWeb representatives in the
country’s capital, Tashkent, asking for
their satellite broadband services to be
made available in Uzbekistan. They also
called on the two companies to open an
office there to explore further cooperation.
The meeting between Uzbekistan’s
development of information technologies
and communications minister and Starlink company didn’t respond. MacWilliams had it added. As part of the deal, the two sides
market access manager, Ben MacWilliams, a separate meeting May 9 with the director- agreed to establish a center of expertise on
took place May 10, on the sidelines of the general of Uzbekistan’s space agency. the use of OneWeb’s satellite broadband in
Space Technology Conference STC-2022, They discussed the issue of bringing Uzbekistan. “The signing of a memorandum
according to a May 11 statement from Starlink services to the country, according with OneWeb is a significant event in the
Uzbekistan’s state investment promotion to the agency. On top of this, the agency development of space communications,”
agency. During the meeting, the minister, signed a memorandum of understanding the space agency’s director-general,
Sherzod Shermatov, called on Starlink to with British satellite broadband provider Shukhrat Kadirov, said in the statement. “The
expand the scope of its services to include OneWeb, according to the agency’s May 16 availability of OneWeb telecommunications
the Middle East, South Asia and Central statement. OneWeb’s marketing director, services in the Republic of Uzbekistan will
Asia, according to the statement. The Ivan Zaitsev, represented the company in effectively implement the tasks envisaged
minister also suggested that Starlink open the signing ceremony. “The main purpose of by state programs for the development of
a representative office in Uzbekistan “to the memorandum [of understanding] is to information technologies and ensure the
expand mutually beneficial cooperation.” attract the British satellite communications availability of innovative communication
In response, MacWilliams announced his company OneWeb to the Uzbek market,” services even in remote regions of the
company’s “readiness to implement large the statement reads. The deal set the stage republic.” Uzbekistan’s internet penetration
projects in Uzbekistan, as well as in other for the two sides to hold a discussion of rate stood at 70.5 percent of the total
countries,” according to the statement. “regulatory issues and determining the population of 34 million as of January
SpaceNews reached out to Starlink to main needs of the state to prioritize the use 2022, according to data from DataReportal,
ask what the “large projects” are, but the of the available OneWeb satellite capacity,” an independent data collector.

Starlink Licensed to Operate in Nigeria, Mozambique

Elon Musk has announced that Starlink, confirmed that the company received two
the satellite internet service of SpaceX, licenses – a ten-year international gateway
has received licenses to operate in Nigeria license and a five-year ISP license – and
and Mozambique. The company claims will be trading as Starlink Internet Services
that the two countries are the first in Nigeria. Both licenses came into effect on 1
Africa with Starlink regulatory approval, May 2022. The low-orbit Starlink satellites
with the service now licensed to operate are designed to offer high speed, low
on all seven continents. The Nigerian latency broadband internet in remote and
Communications Commission (NCC) has rural locations across the globe.

87 MAY-JUNE 2022