Timor-Leste connects 450 remote villages to high-speed internet

Government initiative part of nationwide digital reform agenda.

Nearly 500 remote villages in Timor-Leste have been connected to high-speed internet following the deployment of Starlink-powered satellite broadband infrastructure.

Part of Timor-Leste's digital reform agenda, the 450-village connectivity rollout was carried out by authorised Starlink reseller Vorakai Lda. It was described as amongst the most significant digital inclusion projects in the country.

Benefits of the project, which was led by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, include modernisation of public service delivery and improved access to healthcare and education.

"For decades, many remote communities have been effectively cut off from reliable access to information, services, and opportunity due to infrastructure limitations," said Vorakai Lda Chair Tammy Kassiou (pictured), who cited a "digital leap forward" for Timor-Leste.

"This initiative is fundamentally changing that reality... When communities become digitally connected, access to education, healthcare, information, communication, and economic participation changes almost overnight."

Kassiou pointed out that countries with large parts of their population digitally excluded cannot fully compete in the modern world.

"When a child in a remote village can access the same digital information as students anywhere else in the world, that changes futures," she stated. "When local health workers can connect instantly with specialists, that changes outcomes."

The Starlink deployment in Timor-Leste supports critical initiatives of the Ministry of State Administration.