MANILA - Presidential contender and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday said he secured an approval to tap SpaceX owner Elon Musk's satellite broadband service Starlink to improve the capital's internet connection.

The city council of Manila approved a resolution allowing Domagoso to negotiate or enter into an agreement with Starlink, which makes use of low-orbit satellites.

The Manila City Council in its Resolution No. 46 said Starlink "offers high-speed broadband with exceptionally low latency, which is important in applications that offer wether predictions, communications, navigation capabilities, as well as for educational purposes."

"The City of Manila will greatly benefit in the services offered by Starlink for disaster preparedness, as well as in the event of calamities," the resolution read.

"The public school students of the City of Manila may also benefit in the high-speed broadband services offered by Starlink as an educational tool, and may be given free access to this internet service," it added.

LOOK: Manila City Council OKs resolution authorizing Mayor @IskoMoreno “to negotiate and/or enter into a contract with SpaceX for the use of STARLINK”, @elonmusk’s tech that uses advanced satellites in a low orbit, to enable access to internet and other high data rate activities pic.twitter.com/bcnGfgiESS

— Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) March 17, 2022

The technology allows users to "see download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20ms in most locations," according to Starlink's official website.

The technology, however, "requires a clear view of the sky to connect," the company said.

So far, Starlink Kits are only available in US and Canada as its worldwide rollout is slated by the end of 2022.

In November last year, government officials met with the SpaceX team in for Starlink's potential expansion to the Philippines.

The meeting was set to discuss "Starlink’s plan to put up a Philippine-registered company that will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp," the Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement released last February.

The company is eyeing to offer satellite internet services and broadband connectivity to remote areas in the Philippines that traditional internet service providers fail to reach, the DTI said.

• Gov't officials meet with Elon Musk's SpaceX for potential Starlink expansion in PH

Last month, Musk announced that Starlink would be available in parts of Ukraine to ensure that the war-torn country would continue to have internet access as Russian forces pressed on their invasion.

• Musk says Starlink active in Ukraine as Russia invasion disrupts internet
• 'You're most welcome': Starlink internet gear lands in Ukraine

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