The relationship between the president Javier Milei and Elon Musk, considered by Forbes magazine as the most powerful and millionaire man in the world, seems to be a mutual agreement where both parties win. The libertarian for rubbing shoulders, a few days after assuming his position as president, with the most influential businessman of the moment, and this one, for earning the admiration of the leader of the fourth largest lithium-producing country in the world (behind Australia, Chile and China), raw material that the South African (yes, Musk was born in South Africa) needs to manufacture his famous cars tesla, a big seller in the United States and Europe. But this whole issue is implicit because, on paper, the approach is due to the imminent arrival in the country of the satellite internet services company, starlink, which already operates in more than 70 countries and offers speed unthinkable for its competitors. This arrival would take place during the second half of 2024 and promises to revolutionize digital communication in Argentina.
Genesis. It all started a few days after the October PASO, when the visionary Elon, in a television interview in the United States, praised the liberal speech of Javier Milei, winner of those primary elections. Then the libertarian icon, on the rise in the polls, answered in English on his X account (former Twitter): “Elon, we have to talk.”. And here they both won again, Milei for having minimal contact with the most influential CEO in the world, and Elon himself, who was already beginning to rub his hands to imagine how he would transfer all the lithium from Jujuy and Catamarca to his workshops.
Once he assumed the presidency, Milei finished opening the doors with his decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) that he himself titled “Bases for the reconstruction of the Argentine economy”where, among the more than 30 measures, he explicitly invited the businessman announcing the release of satellite internet services that “allow the entry of companies like Starlink” to the country. What is unusual is that a Government mentions only a private company. In this way, the bridge between one and the other was already built and was inaugurated the next day, when the modification of the Argentine Digital Law was published in the Official Gazette, which indicates “that the provision of facilities for satellite communications systems will be free.” ”.
Starlink has already been operational for some years in much of South America. The last country in which he landed a few days ago was Paraguay, where its citizens welcomed him through all possible means. A shot to elevate Argentine pride, since Elon himself published in his X account: “Starlink now available in Paraguay!”, making it clear that the entire Guarani territory was enabled to connect to high-speed, low-latency Internet from space. For his part, the Paraguayan president Santiago Peña responded to Musk on the same network with a submissive “we will wait for you soon Elon Musk”, as a welcome and cholulism.
Technicalities. Musk’s satellite internet service is one of the most expensive and sophisticated in the world due to its satellite connection based on a constellation made up of more than 5,000 satellites located in low Earth orbit, about 550 kilometers away – while the other They do it about 35 thousand kilometers away -, thus ensuring an optimal signal from any point in the territory, no matter how inhospitable it may be. That is why in its advertising it shows photos of remote places such as the top of a mountain, the base of a hill or in the middle of a jungle.
Capable of providing connection speeds of between 150 and 500 megabits per second, in the United States Starlink’s basic service has a one-time cost of $599 for the installation of the antenna (like DirecTV) and a monthly subscription of $120. However, it is estimated that its costs in Argentina would be much lower, differentiating it from Brazil, where $58 plus $612 for installation is paid monthly, or Chile, where the monthly value is $57 and $570 for installation. Currently, on the official Starlink site in Argentina, the reservation of satellite internet service is now available at a cost of $9.
Although this seems like a game of seduction between new lovers, the reality indicates that Starlink already had permission to operate since 2021, when the National Communications Entity (Enacom) authorized it to provide technology services, so in March of 2022 the company was registered as “Starlink Argentina SRL” under the ownership of lawyer Tomás Pérez Alati Brea, and his deputy, Lauren Ashley Dreyer.
Many claim that this media romance between Milei and Musk carries subcutaneously the true interest of both, which is the sale of Argentine lithium to the businessman’s coffers, since the spearhead of their businesses is the automotive company Tesla, whose batteries are manufactured based on raw materials from Catamarca and Jujuy. And while other leaders try to promote the creation of a federal company for the negotiation of lithium, the President would see it better to pave the way for his new friend to strengthen commercial ties between the two. But that will be the big topic of debate in 2024.
