What To Know
- Instead, the government favors a structure in which Thai shareholders control more than half of the business, with a 51% Thai and 49% foreign ownership arrangement emerging as the preferred model.
- The position reflects Thailand’s Foreign Business Act BE 2542 (1999), under which a juristic person registered in Thailand is regarded as foreign when foreigners hold at least half of its capital.
Thailand has signaled that Starlink is welcome to enter the country’s satellite internet market, but the government is drawing a firm line over ownership. Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob says the global satellite operator must comply with Thai law, work with domestic partners and accept majority Thai ownership rather than operate as a wholly foreign-owned business.
Image Credit: Bangkok Business News
The clarification follows Starlink’s commercial launch in Vietnam on August 13, 2026, which intensified questions about why Thailand has yet to approve similar operations. Comparisons have also emerged over pricing and capabilities between Starlink and satellite services offered by National Telecom Plc (NT). However, this Bangkok Business News report highlights the government’s position that the dispute is not about resisting advanced technology, but determining how a powerful international operator should enter a strategically important Thai industry.
Government Draws the Line at 100% Foreign Ownership
Chaichanok has maintained his opposition to allowing Starlink to operate through a company that is entirely foreign-owned. Instead, the government favors a structure in which Thai shareholders control more than half of the business, with a 51% Thai and 49% foreign ownership arrangement emerging as the preferred model.
The position reflects Thailand’s Foreign Business Act BE 2542 (1999), under which a juristic person registered in Thailand is regarded as foreign when foreigners hold at least half of its capital.
Chaichanok indicated that cooperation could become considerably more attractive if Starlink were prepared to form meaningful partnerships with Thai businesses and transfer technology. Such an arrangement could allow Thailand to benefit from Starlink’s technological expertise while simultaneously strengthening domestic capabilities.
Starlink’s Strength Creates Competition Concerns
The minister acknowledged that Starlink possesses formidable advantages in technology, pricing, service quality and production capacity. Those strengths, he argued, could make competition extremely difficult for Thai telecommunications and satellite companies if the Elon Musk-linked satellite operator were allowed unrestricted entry.
The concern extends beyond commercial competition. Satellite communications involve sensitive questions surrounding data management, communications infrastructure and national security, meaning regulators must consider more than simply whether consumers could obtain cheaper or faster internet access.
Chaichanok warned that permitting 100% foreign ownership could restrict future opportunities for Thai companies attempting to develop expertise and investment in telecommunications, satellite services and related technologies.
Space Committee Backs Thai-Majority Approach
The issue reached the National Space Policy Committee at its first meeting of 2026 on August 17. Discussions included regulations for foreign satellites seeking “landing rights” to provide services inside Thailand, alongside proposed legislation governing the country’s broader space activities.
The approach discussed at the meeting continued to favor Thai shareholders retaining more than 50% ownership in companies providing such services.
Chaichanok insisted that Thailand was not attempting to shut out innovation. His argument is that Starlink’s entry should produce broader benefits for Thailand, particularly through technology transfer and partnerships that allow domestic businesses to acquire knowledge rather than simply becoming customers of an overseas technology giant.
NT and Starlink Have Fundamentally Different Missions
The minister also pushed back against direct comparisons between Starlink and state-owned NT, saying the organizations operate under markedly different objectives and circumstances.
Thailand’s domestic satellite communications infrastructure, he explained, is not being developed to defeat global giants in a commercial race. Its strategic purpose is to ensure the country retains an independent communications capability during emergencies or situations in which foreign providers cannot, or choose not to, maintain services.
That distinction is important because national communications resilience can carry strategic value even when a domestic system cannot match the pricing, scale or technology of a global satellite constellation.
Thailand Wants Starlink — But on Thai Terms
Thailand’s message is increasingly clear: Starlink is not facing a closed door, but neither will its technological dominance automatically earn unrestricted market access. A Thai-majority partnership, compliance with national regulations and meaningful technology transfer could provide the compromise needed to bring the service into the country.
For consumers, Starlink’s eventual arrival could introduce stronger competition and new connectivity options, particularly in areas underserved by terrestrial networks. For policymakers, however, the challenge will be balancing those benefits against domestic industry development, control of critical communications infrastructure, data protection and long-term national security interests. The coming negotiations could therefore determine not merely whether Starlink enters Thailand, but what role foreign satellite giants will be permitted to play in the country’s digital future.
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