Ukrainian tech firm Starmod has announced a significant collaboration with Swedish company Requtech to locally produce satellite terminals, presenting a viable alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Under this agreement, Starmod will undertake licensed serial production of satellite terminals based on Requtech’s Resa design. The terminals, while similar in functionality to Starlink, will initially offer slower data speeds (5-50 Mbps) compared to Starlink’s 20-200 Mbps, due to the smaller number of OneWeb satellites.
Dmytro Stetsenko, head of Starmod, emphasized that despite the lower speeds, these terminals adequately meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. The Ukrainian-produced terminals will integrate Starmod own protective features and components, already proven through the company’s experience supplying Ukrainian defense forces with satellite systems.
Production is expected to launch within six months, scaling to between 2,000 and 10,000 units monthly, significantly reducing both lead time and startup investment. Moreover, these terminals come pre-certified, saving Ukrainian manufacturers up to two years in certification processes.
The expansion of local production could spur further investment into satellite launches specifically tailored for Ukrainian needs, potentially accelerating the growth of the OneWeb satellite constellation.
Stetsenko noted that while these new terminals could offer a genuine alternative to Starlink, Ukraine’s strategy would still benefit from maintaining access to multiple satellite networks. “We do not need to abandon Starlink. It is better to have backup systems,” he said, acknowledging that costs, currently higher than Starlink, might eventually decrease.
Starmod is preparing to recruit between 80 and 140 professionals, including engineers, developers, project managers, and quality specialists, to support this ambitious production initiative.
