SpaceX has announced that Starlink is now operating on two of the most remote islands in the world, Pitcairn Island and Rapa Nui.
Pitcairn Island and Rapa Nui (or Easter Island), sit thousands of kilometers from the nearest continent.
Over the last several years, broadband access has been spotty at best.
In fact, Pitcairn had to turn off public internet access a few years ago to ensure that court hearings could happen via video-conferencing.
Starlink is now operating in two of the most remote areas in the world: Pitcairn Island and Easter Island, both of which are thousands of miles away from the nearest continent pic.twitter.com/Oa6ZCsqqnh
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 22, 2022
SpaceX is providing both commercial and residential services on its satellite network and is aiming to deliver a fast and reliable signal for those on the islands.
Pitcairn Island is located in the southern Pacific Ocean and is a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
The island consists of four volcanic islands: Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno, with a combined land area of only 18 square miles.
Easter Island, on the other hand, is in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is a special territory of Chili.
The Chilean government set up free public-use internet in public spaces a few years ago, but it can slow down quickly if too many people are online.
Citizens of these two islands can get SpaceX services for $110 USD per month and an equipment cost of $599 USD.
Interestingly the Starlink availability map shows the service is now active in Rapa Nui, but that it won’t be available on the Pitcairn Islands until Q1 2023.