Vietnam licenses Musk's satellite internet firm Starlink

HANOI, Vietnam, Feb 15 (AFP): Vietnam has granted a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink to operate its satellite internet services in the communist country, a government agency said.
The radio frequency regulator said local unit Starlink Services Vietnam Co. can initially deploy four gateway stations and a maximum of 600,000 terminal devices in Vietnam.
The licensing requires Starlink to ensure "no interference with existing radio communication networks", the Radio Frequency Management authority announced on Saturday.
The Starlink system would contribute to "expanding satellite internet connectivity" in the country, it added.
Starlink provides high-speed internet access to remote locations around the world via thousands of low Earth orbit satellites.
Nearly 80 percent of Vietnam's around 100 million people are internet users, according to the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center.
But gaps in access to internet service remain in rural and mountainous areas.
Parent company SpaceX, founded by the world's wealthiest person, Elon Musk, did not immediately reply to a request for comment from AFP on Sunday.
US-based Starlink says its services in Vietnam are "coming soon", according to an availability map on its website.
Vietnam and the United States are in the process of negotiating a trade deal after Washington imposed 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods last year.