Millions of people in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, are not currently hooked up to reliable internet services.

Musk, making his first visit to the country, is scheduled to launch Starlink alongside President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Bali’s capital of Denpasar on Sunday afternoon.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who welcomed Musk at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, said Starlink "has the capability to reach even the most remote areas of Indonesia”, AFP reported.

"I had the opportunity to pick up Elon at the airport this morning and then discuss some of his agenda items while he's here," the minister wrote on his official Instagram account.

"One of the key topics was the launch of the Starlink internet service."

In a press release from Luhut’s office received by The Jakarta Post, the government expected that the program could help people across the country gain better, equal access to health and education.

According to Luhut, Musk will also speak at the World Water Forum, which is currently being held in Bali.

Later this month, the satellite internet company is expected to begin trialing its service in the new capital city of Nusantara, currently under development in East Kalimantan.

Starlink obtained business licenses earlier this month to operate in Indonesia, an official from the Communications and Information Ministry has said. This includes permits to use very-small-aperture terminals (VSATs), which deal with small, two-way satellite devices, and another to operate as an internet service provider (ISP).

Starlink is working with Telkomsat, the satellite services subsidiary of state-owned Telkom Group, to deliver internet access to remote regions in the country.

Luhut last week dismissed concerns over the upcoming launch of Starlink services in Indonesia, which many fear could disrupt the domestic telecommunications industry.

Luhut said that while he was aware that Starlink could provide broadband internet connectivity at lower prices, he believed local telcos were the ones that needed to be prepared to compete with the company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elon Musk’s aerospace firm SpaceX.

 "Well, all must be able to compete,” Luhut told reporters in Bali last week, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Starlink is already available in Southeast Asia in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Using a network of low Earth orbit satellites, Starlink can provide internet to remote locations or areas that have had normal communications infrastructure disabled.

According to the World Bank, about two-thirds of Indonesia's roughly 270 million people had access to the internet as of 2022.