Accordingly, the station could be up and running by as early as May or June in the central city of Da Nang with an investment of about US$3 million. It is hoped that the site will be the first of many and will eventually be part of a network of up to 15 in the country.

If the plan is confirmed and realized, Reuters revealed, Vietnam could become home to one of the largest Starlink networks among similar networks worldwide. Starlink operates in over 100 countries and territories but has not disclosed the number of ground stations it maintains.

Not all countries have a ground station, which communicate with satellites and forward data to users. These stations facilitate communication with satellites and relay data to users.

Starlink Installation Pros, a company that claims to specialize in Starlink service installations but is not affiliated with Starlink, states on its website that there are around 150 Starlink ground stations worldwide, nearly half of them located in the United States.

Starlink is reportedly still finalizing its application to operate in Vietnam and is also in discussions about the possibility of providing secure internal communication services in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung recently signed a decision approving a controlled pilot programme to deploy telecommunications services using low Earth orbit satellite technology to be carried out by SpaceX.

Last September, at a reception for Party General Secretary and State President To Lam in New York, Tim Hughes, senior vice president for Global Business and Government Affairs of SpaceX, also highly valued Vietnam’s potential for SpaceX's satellite internet plan. He informed the leader that the group aims to inject US$1.5 billion into the country in the near future.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with Hughes in Hanoi last September, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also suggested that SpaceX work to boost cooperation in areas where SpaceX has strengths and Vietnam has potential, such as science-technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

He asked SpaceX to support Vietnam through its transfer technology, human resources training, and administration experience sharing, as well as expanding the partnership with Vietnamese businesses. In particular, there are high hopes the firm will focus on increasing the content of high, digital, and green technologies; developing supporting industries; and providing secondary services to help Vietnam integrate more deeply into global value chains.

SpaceX plans to invest US$15 billion in Vietnam

VOV.VN - Tim Hughes, senior vice president for Global Business and Government Affairs of the US-based provider of spacecraft, satellite launch services, and satellite communications SpaceX, has said the corporation plans to invest US$15 billion in Vietnam.