São Paulo (Reuters) – Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel has authorized Elon Musk’s SpaceX to add 7,500 new Starlink satellites to operate in Latin American countries, the watchdog said on Tuesday.
The decision doubled the 4,408 Starlink satellites currently allowed by Anatel, according to a statement from the regulator.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anatel said the decision also included expansion of the frequency band, adding that it decided to maintain the 2027 license date for SpaceX authorization.
Despite the approval, Anatel also said its members felt it was necessary to update Brazil’s current regulatory framework and pointed out that there was a gap that could deal with market areas, spatial sustainability and digital sovereignty.
(Reported by Patricia Vilas Boas; other reports and writing by Andre Romani; Editors by Chris Reese and Kylie Madry)
