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Activists said Wednesday that Starlink began providing satellite internet service free of charge in Iran after authorities shut down internet access amid nationwide protests, according to CNN.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, announced on Tuesday that it has begun offering its Starlink satellite internet service free of charge in Iran, where bloody protests and an internet shutdown have continued for several days.
Mehdi Yahya-Nejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped bring the devices into Iran, told The Associated Press (AP) that the free service has already started. Other activists also confirmed in online messages that the service is free.
“We can confirm that the free Starlink subscription is fully operational. We tested it using a newly activated Starlink device inside Iran,” Yahya-Nejad added.
Ahmad Ahmadian, the executive director of the nonprofit tech organization Holistic Resilience, said that Starlink accounts in Iran that had previously been inactive have now gone online and that their subscription fees were waived starting on Tuesday.
Ahmadian said Iranian authorities are currently using various methods to jam Starlink signals inside Iran.
He added that some of these methods involve “military” jamming similar to what Russia did to Starlink terminals along the front lines in Ukraine.
Doug Madory, of the network-monitoring firm Kentik, told CNN, “Iran’s rulers have created their own firewall that blocks everything except approved data.”
Madory added that cutting off internet access for Iranians is relatively easy for the regime, given that only two companies connect Iran to the global internet.
This news comes after a phone call earlier this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, during which they discussed the possibility of providing access to Starlink in Iran.
Although Starlink is not officially licensed to operate in Iran, Musk has previously said the service is active and available in the country.
Despite the risk of execution for those using Starlink devices, Iran has seen a “marked increase” in demand for the equipment after the war with Israel, Ahmadian said.
Starlink has become the only means for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet on Thursday night, amid escalating nationwide protests and the start of a bloody crackdown on demonstrators.
Starlink itself did not immediately confirm the move.
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