The U.K communications regulator has reportedly given licensing approval to the Starlink broadband system of SpaceX, the renowned California-based aerospace company founded by Elon Musk. The approval has paved the way for Musk’s venture to foray into another major market.
Supposedly, according to an Ofcom spokesperson, the approval was granted to the company in November with countries including Australia, Germany, and Greece having also granted approvals to the innovative system.
Elon Musk, who is currently the world’s richest man, is looking to launch a super-fast global Internet coverage that would connect users that are out of the reach of current broadband networks by launching thousands of satellites and placing them into the low-earth orbit.
The project has already blasted off hundreds of Starlink satellites into space and has begun testing a beta version of the service across North America. The project is among the most ambitious and integral missions Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., more commonly known as SpaceX, is undertaking at the moment.
According to reports, while SpaceX is currently a private company, Elon Musk has hinted on a number of occasions that the company might go public in the future. Musk had said back in December of 2020 that Starlink could likely launch its initial public offering (IPO) once the company’s revenue growth achieves “reasonable predictability”.
The ambitious internet venture apparently plans to roll out a vast constellation of more than 12,000 satellites into the low-Earth orbit to deliver superfast internet to customers.
The latest approval makes way for Elon Musk’s venture to foray into the lucrative British broadband market. This could see the venture compete with the existing terrestrial U.K. Internet service providers such as BT Group Plc as well as conventional satellite companies such as Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd., and OneWeb, a low-earth satellite system that was recently rescued from going bankrupt by the government as well as Bharti Global, an Indian telecoms conglomerate.
Source credit: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-10/elon-musk-s-starlink-broadband-terminals-gets-approval-in-u-k
