Starlink is licensed for satellite Internet in Vietnam

The Ministry of Science and Technology grants a License to provide telecommunications services with network infrastructure, type of fixed satellite telecommunications network and a License to provide telecommunications services with network infrastructure, type of satellite mobile telecommunications network to Starlink Services Vietnam Company Limited. This enterprise has also been granted a License to use radio frequencies and equipment by the Radio Frequency Department.

Along with the above decisions, the Ministry also sent a written notice to the local Departments of Science and Technology to coordinate control according to legal regulations. Meanwhile, Starlink has not shared the time to deploy satellite Internet in Vietnam.

In April 2025, Starlink received a pilot license from Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, becoming the first foreign enterprise that Vietnam agreed to pilot satellite Internet services. SpaceX then carries out procedures to establish a legal entity in Vietnam, before applying for a service provision license from the regulatory agency.

According to the Radio Frequency Department, in the first phase, Starlink is deployed with 4 gateway stations and up to 600,000 terminals. Receiving the license means that Starlink can legally build a receiving and transmitting infrastructure, without causing interference to existing radio communication networks. This also helps the telecommunications market develop sustainably, expanding satellite Internet connections.

Starlink is SpaceX’s ambitious plan to provide Internet coverage in hard-to-reach areas. The service that billionaire Elon Musk’s company deploys is suitable for places where Internet cables cannot reach, or network infrastructure in areas with conflict or devastating natural disasters.

By the end of 2025, SpaceX will have more than 10,000 launched satellites, but not all are operational. American businesses are currently present in 125 countries and territories, with 5 million users.

At the December 2025 press conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology, when asked about the level of impact of the service, the representative of the Department of Telecommunications said that satellite Internet supports ground infrastructure, ensures communication in wave-dense areas and is especially useful in natural disaster prevention because it does not depend on ground transmission lines.

“Satellite Internet is an important backup channel when storms and floods occur,” the Department of Telecommunications said.

According to expert Doan Quang Hoan, Vice President of the Vietnam Radio-Electronics Association, former Director of Radio Frequency Department, satellite Internet can quickly cover the entire signal area in Vietnam. However, he estimates that the service’s appearance will not have much impact on the domestic telecommunications market, because the proportion of low-lying areas is currently very small, mainly in mountainous areas and islands, where there is no electricity grid.