LOS ANGELES, California — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday (US Time) expressed his confidence that the entry of Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite Internet service, will revolutionize Internet connectivity in the Philippines.

In a speech before the Filipino community, after he visited a SpaceX facility here, Marcos said Starlink and similar providers would significantly improve internet connectivity in the country.

Musk, an eccentric tech maverick, owns SpaceX's Starlink and X, formerly Twitter.

Marcos Jr. also underscored that the Philippines' vast archipelago, with over 7,000 islands, is an ideal fit for satellite broadband services.

"Our vast archipelago is an ideal candidate for satellite broadband service. We look forward to improving broadband connectivity in the Philippines through Starlink and all the others," Marcos said.

The President also believed the partnerships forged during his trip would soon address the country's internet woes.

He added he envisions a future where slow internet speeds no longer burden Filipinos as they would instead experience the benefits of high-speed connectivity.

"In the very near future, through the links that we were able to develop on this trip, we are very confident that we will no longer hear complaints about our internet, or our online services," the President said.

"We will instead be hearing praises for the speed of our country's internet connectivity," President Marcos Jr. affirmed.

Starlink's satellite constellation, consisting of thousands of small satellites orbiting Earth, aims to provide high-speed internet access to even the most remote areas.

During the 2023 Singapore Fintech Festival, where Marcos delivered the keynote via hologram last 15 November, tech experts pointed out that internet speed per se is not holding back cashless transactions in the Philippines.

The prevailing problem, they said, is that outside of Luzon, internet connectivity remained at 50 percent or lower despite an executive order intended to hasten the rollout by telecommunication companies of internet infrastructure.

Musk's Starlink, which uses satellites to beam data to and from its customers, does not need land-based internet infrastructures. Still, the service cost has yet to go down to a level affordable to most Filipinos in areas unserved by traditional land-based internet companies.