Starlink Connects Haiti, South Pacific Islands

SpaceX is continuing its mission to connect remote and hard-hit areas to the internet with their Starlink service - as the company has reportedly gained approval to begin offering the service in Haiti, as well as the islands of Pitcairn and Rapa Nui in the south pacific ocean.

The island nation of Haiti is regularly struck by ferocious storms and has had a lot of trouble keeping their communications infrastructure in good repair - let alone expanding it to the more rural parts of the island.

Which, fair enough. It can't be easy to keep wired connections running when your country gets completely wrecked by multiple tropical storms each year.

But SpaceX had reportedly been testing its satellite internet in Haiti for some time before they got the permits to continue. The  most recent was a four month pilot program which measured speeds across 20 sites across the country - but they had also been testing at some major landmarks like school campuses and government buildings for the last two years.

With the permit in hand, SpaceX believes they can officially launch the service before the end of the year.

As for the southern pacific, the islands of Pitcairn and Rapa Nui have also given SpaceX the go ahead to begin operating.

The two islands are small and remote, with internet service being tenuous or just non existent. Pitcairn - for instance - is part of a small volcanic chain of just four islands with a combined area of only 18 square miles.

And while Rapa Nui - which is a territory of Chili - has free, public-use internet provided by the Chilean government, it's reportedly not too reliable, and doesn't have the capacity to allow for regular use.

There's no word yet on what SpaceX is charging for service in Haiti, but for the two south pacific islands, the company is charging $110 USD per month plus the $599 USD equipment charge.

That at least should get some locations up and connected at least. It might not be affordable for everyone living there, but it should allow for more reliable connection at businesses and public buildings. 

Rapa Nui is apparently already active, according to Starlink's availability map, but SpaceX hopes to have them all going by Q1 2023 at the latest.