In Kazakhstan, hundreds of schools have connected Starlink to satellite Internet. It is 40% more expensive than regular communication

2024: In Kazakhstan, hundreds of schools connected to the Starlink satellite Internet. It is 40% more expensive than regular communication

By the end of May 2024 Kazakhstan , more than 750 schools in remote communities had access to satellite from the to the Internet Starlink company. SpaceX Elona Musk The project became possible thanks to a new law signed by the president of the republic, which made an exception for technologies with foreign control centers.

By law, until January 1, 2026, as part of a pilot project, special regulation is introduced and an opportunity is created for the introduction of communication technologies using non-geostationary Starlink satellites. The technical mode of the pilot project will be determined by the authorized body in the field of communications and the National Security Committee. This will provide social facilities in remote villages with the Internet. It is planned that rural schools will be provided primarily with satellite Internet in 2024.

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According to the Almaty TV channel, the cost of satellite Internet is 30-40% higher compared to conventional communication, but the signal quality is much better. The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry (ICRIAP) stressed that connecting schools to satellite Internet is part of the country's digitalization program. The department plans to connect another 2,000 schools in remote villages to the Starlink network:

We are implementing a pilot project to provide 2,000 schools with Starlink satellite communications, - said Azamat Seriktaev, chief expert of the department for monitoring and developing wireless communications projects of the ICRIAP Telecommunications Committee.

The law also introduces a new type of licensing for satellite communications of non-geostationary satellite systems, previously absent in Kazakhstan. The Ministry, together with other bodies, prepares qualification requirements for operators who want to provide satellite Internet services.^[1]

2023

In mid-October 2023, it became known that broadband Internet access through the global satellite system Starlink will appear in rural schools in Kazakhstan, the deployment of which is carried out by SpaceXILON MASK. The cost of connecting will be comparable to the current costs of local educational institutions for satellite Internet.

He spoke about the new initiative. Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bagdat Mussin According to him, the amount of the monthly fee for the connection point will be approximately $200. This does not take into account the costs of Starlink equipment - client terminals and special antennas.

Rural schools in Kazakhstan will have Internet access thanks to Starlink

The current costs of schools are almost equal to the amount that we are going to spend on Starlink - on maintenance and on bringing this service to schoolchildren. The approximate amount of today's negotiations varies from $200 per point of monthly payment, that is, it does not include the cost of the device, the installation and maintenance itself, the Mussin said.

The Minister notes that as of 2023, Kazakh schools connected to satellite Internet receive a channel with a bandwidth of about 4 Mbps. We are talking about "small schools in which no more than 100 people study." Such educational institutions may be located in remote regions not covered by traditional wired Internet access. What speed the Starlink system will provide for local educational institutions is not specified. By mid-October 2023, a pilot project to connect 10 schools to Starlink was implemented in the Almaty region. In general, about 2 thousand Kazakh educational institutions will be connected to the high-speed satellite Internet Starlink.^[2]

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