Iran Becomes the First Country to Disable Elon Musk's Starlink

Iran has become the first country to effectively disable the Starlink internet service provided by Elon Musk, using military-grade jammers to block its satellite internet connection. The move comes as part of a broader government effort to suppress internet access within the country during a period of social unrest.

According to reports by U.S. business magazine Forbes, despite thousands of Starlink units reportedly operating within Iran, the satellite internet has been severely impacted by the country's military jamming efforts. Initially, 30% of Starlink's uplink and downlink traffic was disrupted, but within a few hours, over 80% of the satellite internet's traffic was completely blocked.

The Times of Israel added that the use of Starlink receivers in Iran had increased significantly compared to previous internet blackouts. However, the Iranian government has never authorized the use of Starlink, making its operation illegal within the country.

The satellite internet service works by using GPS signals to establish a connection with the satellite, but Iran has been blocking these signals since a conflict with Israel in June. This has led to localized blackouts in several areas, creating a “patchwork quilt” situation, where some regions experience near-total disruption of Starlink services.

Experts in internet access monitoring have expressed alarm over the extent of the disruption. Amir Rashidi, from the Mian Group, stated, “I’ve been monitoring internet access for over 20 years, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The cost of the shutdown is significant, with reports indicating that Iran loses $1.56 million every hour the internet remains offline. As Iran continues to implement these "kill switch" tactics, the impact on its economy and its citizens' access to vital information grows increasingly severe.