Billionaire Elon Musk stated that Saudi Arabia would allow the use of Starlink service from his company SpaceX for aviation and maritime transport.
This happened against the backdrop of the kingdom signing investment agreements worth about $600 billion during President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, writes Bloomberg.
Saudi Arabia has allowed Musk to use Starlink.
Musk announced this during a summit in Riyadh attended by dozens of American executives, including leaders from the technology industry, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon head Andy Jassy.
He also reported that during meetings on Tuesday, he demonstrated to President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman how his Tesla robots, Optimus, perform the 'Trump dance.'
Elon Musk presented the services of his entire business empire, particularly robotaxis and test tunnels from the Boring Company, as part of a vision to improve life in Saudi Arabia.
The richest person in the world is now serving as an advisor to the president and is overseeing the process of reducing government spending.
Starlink is SpaceX's initiative to provide internet from space, consisting of thousands of satellites in relatively low orbit around the Earth. Together, these satellites provide broadband internet coverage on the surface of the planet.
In which countries in the region does Starlink operate?
This month, the Democratic Republic of the Congo allowed Starlink to operate within its territory. The company is also negotiating with Italy for a €1.5 billion deal to deploy a system for government and military communications, although negotiations have resumed and halted at times.
In the region, Starlink has already been authorized by Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. Last year, Qatar Airways began implementing satellite internet for passengers on its Boeing 777 aircraft.
It is currently unknown whether Saudi Arabia will allow the use of Starlink not only in aviation and shipping but also for regular users.
In the U.S., SpaceX won a $5.9 billion Department of Defense contract to launch reconnaissance satellites, received support from Republicans for expanding its role in the rural internet development initiative, and is deploying terminals to support the Federal Aviation Administration.
