Elon Musk’s turbulent reign as Twitter CEO has the world on edge—what with him laying off thousands of employees, wanting to issue a fee for the blue tick, and scaring off advertisers. Still, software company Netlinkz (ASX: NET) seems undeterred as it signs on to the Musk experience with SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology Corp.) 

Access to the internet is scarce in rural and remote areas, including the sea, mines, and the like. This has been a great opportunity for satellite phone providers to get in on the action with even the new iPhone 14 boasting satellite phone features. Given that most of the market for traditional internet services is saturated, it’s time to dig deep. That’s where the Netlinkz and SpaceX partnership comes in. 

The Company has been appointed non-exclusive reseller of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband internet for enterprises, governments, and non-government organisations. With satellites positioned in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550 km (over 65 times closer than conventional geostationary satellites), Starlink achieves lower latency and higher transmission speeds, allowing people in remote areas to access the web easily. Netlinkz will also bundle its proprietary Virtual Secure Network (VSN) with the Starlink internet. The term has no minimum agreement. 

Netlinkz CEO, James Tsiolis, commented, “The SpaceX Starlink distribution agreement enables Netlinkz to implement its sales strategy faster with a significantly larger footprint. Starlink internet services will allow Netlinkz to integrate its own invisible private networks product -VSN, with Starlink’s advanced satellite technology to bypass barriers posed by traditional, outdated and often limited telecommunication infrastructures.”

With VSN, users get a fully encrypted invisible private network for all devices connected to the network that access the internet. In doing so, the Company also makes a case for cybersecurity, seeing how the current infrastructure is severely insufficient.

To start with, Netlinkz will target connections for remote and rural communities and businesses in Australia and New Zealand to provide secure online services, including health, education, and financial services. The Starlink internet will also be available through Netlinkz to provide access for boats, marine craft, recreational vehicles, remote mining sites, and caravans so users can connect from anywhere in Australia and New Zealand, including the waters surrounding Australia.

SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Sales, Jonathan Hofeller, said, “Starlink provides a powerful and reliable connectivity solution, allowing for remote operations on land and at sea to be managed more efficiently. We look forward to offering this new dimension of connectivity to Netlinkz’s customers.” 

The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Southcloud will sell the bundled services to its existing business customers in regional and rural communities in the Southern Highlands where enterprise-grade fast broadband services are limited or unavailable.

The sale of the bundled service will start in mid-December 2022 for Australia and New Zealand; the company is fully funded for the same. 

Following that, the Company plans a global expansion in late 2023. It will sell the services via Netlinkz’s distribution network developed over the last three years, comprising countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar, Singapore, Japan, Pacific Islands, Africa and Pakistan.