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The UK will begin trialling Elon Musk’s Starlink technology in its first test of a web-linked satellite to meet the government’s ambition to provide ultrafast internet to all homes across the country.
As announced by the government on Wednesday, the first Starlink satellites will be deployed to provide connectivity to specific locations, including a 12th-century abbey in the North York Moors National Park and rescue operations in the Lake District and Snowdonia National Park. .
The government has chosen to use Starlink, the satellite constellation operated by the billionaire entrepreneur’s SpaceX company, rather than British satellite broadband pioneer OneWeb, which it rescued from bankruptcy in 2020 with a controversial $500 million investment.
As governments around the world grapple with how to provide their populations with ultrafast broadband connectivity to reach rural and geographically difficult locations, many have opted to deploy satellites instead of making costly investments to expand their terrestrial fiber networks.
Starlink was chosen primarily for its availability and low cost, the government said, although it added that it did not close the door to using other suppliers and distributors, including OneWeb, in future satellite trials.
The announcement is an early sign that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is serious about improving access to fast and reliable internet to address the digital divide and reach its goal of delivering gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to 99 percent of premises by 2030. .
“High-speed broadband beamed to Earth from space could be the answer to the connectivity problems suffered by people stuck in the digital slow lane,” Digital Secretary Michelle Donnellan said.
“Ensuring everyone can get a quality internet connection is crucial to our leveling-up plans and these trials aim to find a solution to the prohibitively high cost of laying cables in remote locations.”
The Conservative government has set aside £5bn as part of its Project Gigabit subsidy program introduced last year to reach the final 20 per cent of the UK without access to ultrafast broadband, but has faced criticism from the industry for failing to take up the majority of broadband. capital city.
The government also announced on Wednesday that it had awarded its biggest-ever project gigabit contract, which will give Northern-Ireland-based fiber provider Fibreson £108mn to connect 60,000 rural areas with gigabit broadband.
Once the Starlink pilots are complete, the government said it will assess the feasibility of using satellite technology to connect all remote homes and businesses across the UK, including in extreme locations such as mountainous areas or small islands.
Starlink and OneWeb are two of a handful of companies operating high-speed communications services from low Earth orbit, where satellites travel around the world at altitudes between 550km and 1,000km.
Starlink and OneWeb were contacted for comment.
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