Malé, Maldives – Tech. Minister Shauna has said that the Maldives government has no intention to block SpaceX’s high-speed internet service Starlink once it becomes available in the region.
The Minister said this while social media has raised concerns after the reduced internet prices were announced, that the government has agreed to block additional service providers entry to Maldives for the next 5 years.
The government has announced reduced internet packages for broadband starting from 1 July 2021 and mobile data starting from 1 October 2021.
The government has reduced broadband prices to,
- 30GB at the speed of 5MBPS for MVR 250
- 100GB at the speed of 15MBPS for MVR 500
- 200GB at the speed of 25MBPS for MVR 700
The throttle speeds for broadband cannot be lower than 2Mbps in the Maldives. In addition, for packages above MVR 300, the throttle speed is not to decrease below 5Mbps.
Residential internet package prices are to decrease by 28 to 30 percent starting July 1 while mobile data changes are set go into effect from October 1.
Reducing the price of internet was one of the most important vows made by the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih when he came into power.
Referring to this, Minister Shauna said that today marks a milestone after much effort and discussion to fulfil President Solih’s vow to reduce internet prices. She also thanked the tech industry for their feedback in bringing the changes.
