ID health minister meets with Elon Musk for potential Starlink partnership

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Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has reportedly met with billionaire Elon Musk to discuss how Indonesia can work with Starlink, Musk's satellite network to provide internet access for remote health centres in the country.

Starlink will reportedly look to provide online access at disadvantaged, frontier and outermost areas as the government looks to ensure equitable health services in the country, according to Antara News.

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Sadikin said that it was important that local health centers have infrastructures that can withstand the demand as they are the frontline of creating healthy communities. He cited government data that noted that some 2,000 of the 10,000 existing centers still do not have access to the internet. There are also 11,100 smaller health centres that are not connected to the internet as well.

Sadikin explained that with good internet connectivity, online training for health workers can also be carried out. It will also allow for a wider access to health services and will improve connectivity between regions. Starlink would also support the digitalisation agenda of Indonesia's health transformation.

Starlink is a satellite network that was developed by spaceflight company SpaceX to provide low-cost internet access to remote areas.

Most recently, it made headlines when Malaysian communications minister, Fahmi Fadzil, said that Malaysia had issued a license to it, to provide internet services, particularly in the country’s remote areas, according to a Facebook post by the minister.

Minister Fahmi took to Facebook to share that he submitted a "facility and network services provider license" to a Starlink representative which will allow it to provide satellite internet services in Malaysia.

He went on to add that currently, 97% of the population has internet access, whereas the remaining 3% face a lack of access due to geographical issues which makes network construction a challenge.

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