SpaceX's Satellite Internet Service Kicks Off Pre-Sales in Mexico

Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, announced this week it is expanding coverage to Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and some states in Canada and the US where it is not yet present. The Elon Musk-owned company promises download speeds of over 200Mbp and expects to begin operating in Mexico by the end of 2021. According to the company, it has everything in place to set up the necessary infrastructure but has not yet held talks with the authorities in the country. 

Although the company's policy is to charge the same to all users, in the case of Mexico, local taxes and the shipping charge for the connection kit would be extra. For now, the service is limited to a number of users per coverage area. Customers who pay a US$100 pre-sale deposit will be given priority once the service is ready, the company said. Once the service is installed, the monthly cost will be US$99. Starlink currently provides internet to Tesla factories around the world. Three months ago, it started the beta stage of its service and already has more than 10,000 users worldwide.

Elon Musk said that Starlink's long-term goal is to bring internet to “every corner of the planet,” mainly in rural and remote areas where there is no access to fiber optic or cable connectivity.

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• Could AI diagnose COVID-19? Stanford's COVID-19 Response Innovation Lab and One Young World are leading an initiative that is looking to identify COVID-19symptoms, through artificial intelligence and cough sounds, reports Business Insider Mexico. Over 50 researchers from universities in 20 countries including Berkeley, Oxford, Harvard and Princeton, are developing Virufy, a mobile app that is designed to diagnose COVID-19 through a user’s cough sounds.

• Doopla, an electronic platform that offers loans and direct investments, has officially become the second fintech to be approved under the Fintech Law in Mexico. The company’s application for approval was checked by an Interinstitutional Committee made up of six members, two from the CNBV, two from Banxico and two from the Ministry of Finance. As reported by El Economista, the company’s application was submitted on Sept. 2019, making Doopla the first company to make such a request.

• Mexican Entrepreneur Sara Kumetz founded 12 years ago her own image consulting company and received numerous requests for personalized advice. However, the pandemic harmed Kumetz’s business model, which relied on personal interaction. This turn of events inspired her to launch an app that provided remote style advice and recommendations, reported Expansión Política. Read the full story here.

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