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Glenn Kaonang · · 6 min readWhy Elon Musk’s Starlink won’t get an easy pass in Indonesia
With additional reporting by Abidah Naqiya of Tech in Asia Indonesia
On May 19, Elon Musk was in Bali with Indonesian officials to launch Starlink, the satellite-based internet service from SpaceX, in the country.
“If you have access to the internet, you can learn anything,” Musk said in an interview with local media, emphasizing Starlink’s ability to serve consumers in remote areas.
Photo credit: Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Informatics
The notion of using satellite-based internet services from Musk’s spaceship company does sound exciting to many Indonesians.
However, despite its apparent allure, the path toward Starlink’s dominance in Southeast Asia’s most populous country might not be that clear-cut.
Not yet a threat to local providers
Technically, this isn’t Starlink’s first stint in the archipelago, as it has been partnering with Telkomsat, a subsidiary of state-owned telecommunications firm Telkom, since 2022.
Last week, Telkomsat renewed its deal with Starlink, allowing the former to continue offering internet services to businesses and government offices in rural areas that are not covered by fiber infrastructure. This includes the village of Amborawang in East Kalimantan as well as the Highland Papua province.
This time, Starlink has been licensed to serve the general population in Indonesia. It marks the firm’s third market in Southeast Asia, following its launches in the Philippines and Malaysia last year.
According to the World Bank, 66% of Indonesia’s roughly 270 million people had access to the internet as of 2022. That’s a lower rate than Vietnam (79%) and Thailand (88%).
Moreover, most internet users in Indonesia rely on cellular connection, which has limited reach and bandwidth. In contrast, Starlink currently controls about 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting the Earth, enabling it to cover remote locations and offer ample bandwidth.
On May 3, an early user in Bandung demonstrated that Starlink’s download speed can reach 300 megabits per second (Mbps).
Despite its greater reach and faster download speed, Starlink is far from guaranteed an easy path to market dominance in Indonesia.
Unfair competition concerns
Beyond Starlink
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While local internet service providers don’t feel threatened by Starlink’s expansion beyond rural areas, concerns of unfair competition linger.
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