Elon Musk says nearly 100 Starlinks active in Iran
- Musk’s satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent the government’s restrictions
- Iran has been engulfed in protests that erupted after the death in September of Mahsa Amini in police custody
Nearly 100 Starlink internet terminals are currently operating in Iran, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Monday.
The tycoon had promised to bring the satellite internet network to the country in September as Iranian authorities imposed increasingly severe access restrictions, in a move activists called a campaign to limit information about protests that had broken out nationwide.
“Approaching 100 Starlinks active in Iran,” Musk tweeted Monday.
Starlink has more than 2,000 tiny satellites orbiting just a few hundred kilometres above Earth, providing internet access to users below.
The land-based terminals are then wired up to basic routers that create small Wi-fi spots.
Earlier this year, controversial billionaire Musk gained hero status in Ukraine after sending thousands of Starlink terminals to the country in the days after Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine now has 20,000 of the small white receivers throughout the country.