Vietnam licenses first 4 SpaceX’s Starlink gateway stations

The Radio Frequency Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology said it has licensed the company to deploy four stations operating on E- and Ka-band radio frequencies and related equipment.

The licensed sites include Binh Nguyen Commune in northern Phu Tho Province and Lien Chieu Ward in Da Nang City.

Two additional gateway stations will be installed in Tang Nhon Phu and Tan Thuan Wards in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s southern economic hub.

Ground gateway stations are critical infrastructure that connects satellite networks with terrestrial fiber-optic Internet systems, according to the department.

They convert signals, reduce latency, enhance data security, manage network traffic, and help ensure stable connectivity.

The four stations form part of Starlink’s initial roll-out phase, which aims to provide satellite Internet access to up to 600,000 user terminals.

Regulators require the company to ensure that its use of radio frequencies does not cause harmful interference to licensed equipment or systems serving national security and defense purposes.

If interference occurs, operations must be suspended immediately until the issue is resolved.

The department said frequency use and interference management among non-geostationary satellite systems must comply with regulations set by the International Telecommunication Union.

The company must also implement technical measures to prevent disruption to other services operating within the same frequency bands.

Earlier, the ministry granted the firm telecommunications licenses covering fixed and mobile satellite networks, allowing it to provide satellite-based fixed telecom services in Vietnam.

An official roll-out date has not yet been announced, according to news site VnExpress.

Once commercial operations begin, Vietnam will become the fifth Southeast Asian country to host Starlink, after the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste.

Developed by SpaceX, founded by American billionaire Elon Musk, Starlink is a low-Earth-orbit satellite Internet network designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband worldwide.

The system operates about 6,750 satellites at an altitude of roughly 550 km and serves more than five million users across more than 125 countries and territories.

According to SpaceX, the network supports high-performance streaming, videoconferencing, online gaming, and remote work.

The service was first tested in Vietnam at the Vietnam International Innovation Expo in October 2023, held in the Hoa Lac area of Hanoi, where it achieved speeds of around 200 Mbps.