A screengrab from TikTok shows the teacher with a box containing the Starlink kit.
KUCHING (Aug 17): A teacher in a rural area of Sarawak has used his own money to purchase a Starlink satellite broadband kit to provide Internet access for his students.
The teacher’s selfless act garnered attention on social media after TikTok user @amoimorni shared a video of him carrying a box containing the kit.
The TikTok clip said the teacher was excited to receive the device, which is used for the Starlink satellite broadband service.
Operated by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, Starlink uses low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to offer high speed broadband at a lower latency compared to regular satellite broadband services.
It is understood that the teacher acquired the Starlink kit in the hope of enhancing his students’ learning experience.
In many remote and rural areas across Sarawak, reliable Internet access is hard to come by.
In another Tik Tok video, the teacher said he purchased the Starlink kit without help from others.
“We bought it ourselves. Even so, the credit should go to the officials that brought Starlink into Malaysia. This device can help enhance our Internet access,” said the teacher.
Last month, Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the Sarawak government will evaluate the coverage and commercial aspects of Starlink’s satellite broadband service for possible use in the state.
While welcoming the potential benefits such a connection may bring, he said Starlink’s coverage area for Sarawak still needs to be assessed.
“But definitely if it covers our rural, especially the other 6 per cent of the remaining populated areas that are yet to be covered, these are the most potential areas to use this service,” he told The Borneo Post then.
“But we still need to look at its commercial model.”
Prior to this, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil had said Starlink offered competitive prices for satellite Internet services.
He also emphasised Starlink’s affordability compared to other similar services available in the country.
Fahmi said his ministry, together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), had conducted an assessment, especially on cost issues, before allowing the use of Starlink services.
He said the government chose Starlink to address Internet access issues in remote areas.