Sri Lanka has given Elon Musk’s Starlink, the satellite unit of SpaceX, preliminary approval to provide internet services there, the president’s office said on Thursday.
Sri Lanka fast-tracked the approval process after Musk met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe last month in Indonesia on the sidelines of the 10th World Water Forum.
Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator gave preliminary approval after a public consultation, the president’s office said in a short statement.
Musk and Wickremesinghe had discussed ways to expand internet connectivity in rural Sri Lanka and potential collaboration on renewable energy, the president’s office said.
Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Kevin Liffey