"Choosing Chinese G60 Over Elon Musk's Starlink Is Stupid, Shameful" - Rutsito
Toneo Rutsito, the founder of TechnomagTv, has criticised Zimbabwean government officials for suggesting that the southern African nation might decide to choose China’s G60 satellite over SpaceX’s Starlink, owned by Elon Musk. Rutsito described the idea as foolish and embarrassing, urging the government to reconsider.
Rutsito argued that SpaceX’s Starlink has a proven track record, having been tested and used successfully over the years. In contrast, the Chinese G60 satellite is still in the trial phase. He expressed concerns about China’s reputation for spying on its citizens and claimed that allowing China to provide internet services in Zimbabwe would be a violation of human rights, including the right to privacy. He said:
Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology, a state-owned company established in 2022 is the one to run the G60 satellite factory. These young Turks do not even have national coverage for their 1 billion people let alone the African Market and hence will provide pathetic speeds! To start with submitting national data traffic to a country notorious of curtailing freedom of expression and access to information would be as nefarious and tantamount to violation of Human rights and freedom of expression! China does not even allow access to Facebook Whatsapp and Twitter to its citizens and spies on its citizens daily, this is gross! In Ukraine, Ellon Musk said his internet can not be used for war! It was actually blamed for switching off internet that led to Ukraine drones failing to attack Russia but here we are, someone twisting the facts to suite his singing for supper narratives!
The G60 Starlink project started in 2016, with the Shanghai government announcing its cluster plans in 2021. As of July, the local government said they would send nearly 1,300 satellites into orbit during the initial phase of the project. This figure is far off to date! This is a drop in Ocean against what Starlink has done in terms of geo space coverage and connectivity and to think Zimbabwe Gvt must trust and sign up a struggling and poorly connected aerospace player coz its Chinese is not only ignorant but stupid!
In comparison, Rutsito lauded SpaceX’s Starlink project, which started launching satellites in 2019. He mentioned that the project currently has over 5,289 small satellites in low Earth orbit, with plans to deploy up to 42,000 satellites in the future. Rutsito argued that Starlink’s extensive coverage and connectivity make it a more reliable choice for Zimbabwe.
Rutsito questioned the national security concerns cited by proponents of the Chinese G60 satellite, arguing that only authoritarian regimes fear open connectivity platforms like Starlink. He pointed out that eight African countries have already adopted Starlink without facing any national security issues.
