Starlink to Provide Mobile Backhaul, Two Digital Learning Firms Merge, Governors Outline Telehealth Effort
Musk looks at mobile backhaul for Starlink, two education entities merge, governors look back at telehealth success.
Jun 30, 2021—SpaceX head Elon Musk said at the Mobile World Congress event that Starlink satellites will be heading toward providing mobile backhaul services, according to Telecompetitor.
The backhaul option would allow mobile providers to use capacity from the Starlink satellites to bridge cellular gaps in service.
Musk, according to Telecompetitor, said the company will partner with mobile carriers to help deliver 5G services to rural areas.
Currently, Starlink’s 1,500 low-earth orbit satellites currently provide a direct-to-consumer home internet. With backhaul, Starlink will provide services directly to telecoms.
Education tech firm buys Harvard, MIT nonprofit
Education technology company 2U Inc. is buying web-based course provider edX, a nonprofit founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for $800 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The deal combines the two universities in online instruction as more educational institutions push more aggressively to expand digital learning.
All proceeds will go toward a nonprofit and focus on reducing inequalities across education. Built by edX, it will maintain an open-access course platform and work to minimize the digital divide that serves as a barrier to many young children and adults.
Governors lead in expanding broadband access to telehealth
In a blog post last Friday, the National Governors Association (NGA) said governors across the nation have successfully increased affordable broadband to households, which has gone into addressing telehealth needs.
The post lists a number of initiatives by governors, including targeting telehealth with broadband grant programs, expanding eligibility to a wider swath of telehealth providers and loosening restrictions on prescribing medicine remotely.
