Vietnam's government said on Wednesday it will allow SpaceX to launch its Starlink LEO satellite broadband service in the country on a trial basis for the next five years.
According to Reuters, citing a government statement, Starlink will be allowed to offer fixed and mobile satellite services under a pilot programme that will run until the end of 2030. The mobile services component includes connectivity services for seacraft and airplanes.
Starlink will only be allowed to sign on a maximum of 600,000 subscribers for the duration of the pilot, the report said.
However, the Starlink pilot will also be exempt from Vietnam’s foreign ownership rules, which would require Starlink to set up a JV with a local partner to operate in Vietnam. Under the rules, Starlink would be limited to a 50% stake in such a JV.
SpaceX has been actively lobbying to get approval to launch Starlink in Vietnam since September 2023, but has balked at the foreign ownership rules, insisting at the very least on a controlling stake in any JV.
The pilot approval comes six months after SpaceX offered to invest US$1.5 billion in Vietnam as an apparent sweetener to convince the government to allow Starlink to operate in the country, according to the official Vietnam News Agency.
Nikkei Asia reports that the project will be overseen jointly by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.
