Indonesia grounds second broadband satellite to free up digital inclusion funds

Indonesia has decided not to launch a hot backup satellite (HBS) to support its single broadband-beaming bird, and plans to spend the money on Earth-based digital inclusion efforts instead. "The BAKTI Kominfo Task Force has reviewed the proposal and approved the early termination of the HBS contract after considering the …

[zuckzuckgo]

I suspect that it is now cheaper to just buy capacity from Starlink then launch and maintain their own satellite service to reach the last 10 or 20% of the population. It buys time and allows more money to go to building out ground based infrastructure. The risk being that relying on a US (or any foreign controlled) service puts them at a political disadvantage in diplomatic disputes.

The availability of Starlink could marginally reduce the demand for SpaceX satellite launches. Although I don't think SpaceX will have any shortage of customers in the near future, and Musk benefits either way.

[doublelayer]

It depends how much capacity they already have on their own satellite. It might be cheaper to distribute equipment that can communicate with that rather than buying equipment and service from another company, and they might get better service than either by subsidizing some cables and mobile towers.