According to industry sources, South Korea is expected to launch a low-orbit satellite internet service powered by Eutelsat OneWeb next month, while Musk's SpaceX is also preparing to launch its "Starlink" service in South Korea.
According to KT SAT, the satellite service subsidiary of Korea Telecom (KT), Eutelsat OneWeb, a subsidiary of France's Eutelsat, has completed the communication equipment conformity assessment for satellite Internet services and started establishing network connections with local access points.
A source from KT SAT said, "OneWeb is currently installing equipment and is expected to launch services in September."
OneWeb plans to cooperate with Hanwha Systems and KT SAT to provide low-Earth orbit (LEO) network services.
According to sources, SpaceX, which operates the "Starlink" service, has also received approval from South Korea's National Radio Research Agency for a key low-Earth orbit service equipment. This agency oversees the mandatory conformity assessment system for broadcasting and communications equipment.
The US company is awaiting approval for other devices.
An official from SK Telecom, Starlink Korea's authorized agent, said: "Once this process is completed, it is expected that Starlink Korea will officially launch the service after a short preparation time."
