Malaysians will have to wait at least a couple of years before being able to use satellite internet directly from their phones. This comes as communications minister Fahmi Fadzil revealed that he expects the country to be able to provide satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services in 2026 or 2027.
As to which company will be providing the service, the minister said that Malaysia is currently in talks with three foreign firm that offer the technology, although the government has yet to receive an application from any of them. He stressed that the technology is still at the trial stage in many countries and has yet to be fully implemented.
Fahmi announced last December that his ministry was looking into satellite internet for mobile phones in order to increase accessibility to the world wide web in rural areas. He stated at the time that he hoped the technology would be available for rollout by 2025, but it seems that the unofficial timeline has been pushed back by one or two years.
A few months back, the minister encouraged SpaceX’s Starlink to open a local office in Malaysia to facilitate transactions more easily. It is one of the few companies that offers a D2D satellite service in certain regions, but it is currently limited to text messages, with voice and data connectivity being planned for next year.
(Source: Bernama)
