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By Sharon Nanau
The Telecommunications Commission of the Solomon Islands (TCSI) today issued Starlink a Class 1 license to operate in the Solomon Islands.
This was confirmed by TCSI Commissioner Calvin Ziru after signing a memorandum of understanding with Ryan Goodnight, one of the Starlink directors responsible for global Starlink licensing.
He said Starlink will operate in the country through its locally incorporated company, Starlink Solomon Islands Limited, and be overseen by its U.S. parent company, Starlink.
“The Starlink Solomon Islands Limited Class License will allow them to engage in our telecommunications services in the Solomon Islands, and we are one of the countries in the South Pacific region that has issued and granted Starlink operating licenses.”
Mr Ziru explained that discussions on issuing an operating licence to Starlink began two years ago.
He said the government and stakeholders in the country’s communications sector were made aware of the Starlink partnership through discussions and consultations conducted by TCSI.
Starlink, Ryan Goodnight, Director of Global Licensing, and TCSI staff
“We have met with the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Communications, Fredrick Kologeto, and they are fully aware of the process and intend to formally issue a Class 1 license to Starlink.
We are also in discussion with other ISP operators in the country and they are also involved in discussions about the impact of Starlink operations,” he said.
Mr Ziru said many of the concerns raised during the discussion were about the impact of Starlink entering the local market and how this would affect the operations of Our Telecom and Be-mobile.
“The country’s two main telecom providers have expressed concerns about new players in the market, but it is clear that the Starlink service will not only make internet more affordable for Solomon Islanders, but will also complement services provided by the main operators”
Mr Ziru clarified that Starlink had decided to cut connectivity with the Solomon Islands due to the illegal influx of a large number of Starlink devices into the country.
He said the license issued today now allows existing Starlink users to switch to their service.
“A lot of regulators were concerned about bringing these in, especially in terms of the legality, so Starlink required that they be turned off, and they had to work through that over the last few months, and once they turned them off and the countries gave them the license, they would then develop the system for that country to launch again.” He explained.
Mr Ziru added that for the Solomon Islands, due to ongoing discussions with Starlink over the past two years, they ensured that all TCSI requirements were met.
“They started with meeting our requirements, registering the company with the local Foreign Investment Committee and ensuring they had a legal presence in the Solomon Islands, which enabled them to launch the Solomon Islands network in the next few days.”
The Telecommunications Commission of the Solomon Islands (TCSI) is an independent, expert statutory body responsible for the economic and technical regulation of the telecommunications industry in the Solomon Islands.
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