Wycliffe Associates are to use Starlink to improve connectivity with isolated Bible translators.
The Bible translation organisation hope that the SpaceX satellite internet provider, which provides broadband to over 100 countries and aims to eventually provide global broadband, will enable their translators to access the internet at high speeds - and transform the capabilities of their work in the world’s remotest locations.
It is hoped that the Starlink system will enable national translators to participate in video calls from remote locations around the world.
The organisation, which supports local churches in advancing Bible translation as well as supporting national translators, said in a press release that Starlink’s capabilities ‘benefit national Bible translation teams, whose members typically live and work in some of the world’s most hard-to-reach places’ and often have no electricity or internet access, leaving them reliant on solar energy to power devices.
As well as helping national translators to participate in video calls from remote locations, it is hoped that the Starlink system will also provide good internet connections that will also enable translators in areas under threat from persecution to securely upload their work online, rather than losing it.
Wycliffe said they have ‘thoroughly’ tested Starlink over the last year and have recently launched it with translation teams in southeast Asia, and hope to start using the system in other countries imminently.
A Wycliffe Associates staff member said: ‘Starlink’s going to improve our ability to stand alongside our translators.’
