SpaceX seeks to provide Starlink satellite internet services in Vietnam

U.S.-based tech giant SpaceX is ready to invest and provide its Starlink satellite internet services in Vietnam, says a senior executive, as the Southeast Asian country seeks to boost its digital economy.

Its intended services will cover many sectors like education, training, and disaster prevention, Tim Hughes, senior vice president for global business and government affairs at SpaceX, told Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a Friday meeting in Hanoi.

Praising Vietnam’s business climate, Hughes suggested Vietnam prepare necessary infrastructure and conditions so that its project can be highly effective and help Vietnam expand its Internet coverage to 100% of the population.

PM Chinh noted that Vietnam welcomes big tech companies, including SpaceX, to cooperate and invest in Vietnam, which is striving to build a digital government, digital economy and digital society and have digital citizens.

The government chief appreciated the American company's ideas and investment proposals. He affirmed that Vietnam has necessary infrastructure and policies to enable companies, including SpaceX, to invest and do business efficiently in the country.

Chinh asked SpaceX to work with relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies to ensure that its project complies with Vietnamese laws and ensures network security.

He also encouraged further partnerships in areas where SpaceX has strengths and Vietnam has potential, such as science-technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things.

The government leader called on SpaceX to pay heed to technology transfer, human resource training, and management expertise; to expand partnerships with Vietnamese businesses and help them deepen their involvement in global value chains.

The same day, at a meeting between Hughes and Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, the two sides discussed the progress of satellite Internet services worldwide and related regulations, SpaceX’s business prospects in Vietnam as well as Vietnam’s role in the global electronics and telecommunications equipment supply chain.

Hughes shared that SpaceX had invested over $11 billion in its satellite Internet network with over 6,500 satellites. It started to provide Starlink Internet services in the U.S. in October 2020.

The company is serving nearly three million clients in over 100 nations worldwide, including in several ASEAN countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

He expected to get assisted in bringing broadband services to areas in Vietnam without access to optical fibers like the services the company is providing in the U.S. and Canada.

Minister Hung lauded SpaceX’s proposals and briefed on the Vietnamese government’s efforts to bring Internet to remote areas and poor households.