Billionaire Elon Musk says satellite broadband service is available in Ukraine because Russian attacks disrupt the internet.
SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk says the company’s Starlink satellite broadband service is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted by Russian aggression.
“Starlink service now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
The Internet Monitor said on Saturday that internet connectivity in Ukraine has been affected by the Russian aggression, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country where fighting has been heaviest.
Although extremely expensive to deploy, satellite technology can provide the Internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve locations that are not accessible by fiber-optic cables and cell towers. Technology can also be an important backstop when hurricanes or other natural disasters disrupt communications.
Musk said on January 15 that 1,469 of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are active and 272 are going into operational orbits soon.