Musk: ‘Nearly 100’ Starlink Terminals Now Active In Iran

Matthew Broersma,
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SpaceX chief Elon Musk says ‘approaching 100’ Starlink terminals now active in Iran, amidst ongoing protests and blocked network access

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said nearly 100 Starlink internet terminals are now active in Iran, amidst ongoing protests and blocked network access in the country.

“Approaching 100 starlinks active in Iran,” Musk said in a Twitter post on Monday.

Musk said in September he would activate Starlink services in Iran as part of a US government-backed effort to “advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians.

In late October Iranian political activist Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said activists had smuggled dozens of terminals into Iran.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX

Internet access

“Efforts have been underway for more than a month to get Starlink terminals to Iran,” he wrote on Twitter at the time.

He said an unnamed group of activists had “sent dozens of terminals to Iran and intend to scale up”.

“Iranian popular demand for unfettered Internet access is enormous,” Sadjadpour said. “iPhones, satellite dishes, and alcohol are all prohibited – the latter two are criminal offenses – yet all are ubiquitous inside Iran.”

He added that Musk had been “gracious with his support”.

Ukraine Starlink

SpaceX has also donated about 2,000 terminals for use in Ukraine amidst infrastructure outages caused by the conflict with Russia, Musk said in October.

He said in mid-October the Ukraine initiative couldn’t be funded “for an indefinite period of time”, and asked for US government funding, but later said he would continue backing the arrangement.