Iranians still accessing Starlink during harsh crackdown on protests, blackout | Latest Tech News
Some Iranians are still utilizing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service despite a nationwide communications blackout, three people inside the nation said, the latest instance of Starlink getting used to counter web shutdowns in geopolitical flashpoints.
Iranian authorities have in current days launched a lethal crackdown on nationwide protests, including the near-complete shutdown of web service, which is supplied through fiber-optic cables and cellphone towers.
But Starlink, which beams its service instantly from 1000’s of low-earth orbit satellites, is still working in some locations in Iran, despite being banned by authorities there, three people utilizing Starlink in the nation told GWN. One of them, in Western Iran, said he knew dozens of people utilizing Starlink and that customers in border cities and cities have been largely unaffected.
An anti-government protest in the streets of Tehran, Iran on Jan. 8, 2026. Getty Images
Alp Toker, founder of web monitoring group NetBlocks, said he has heard from people in the area that there may be still some Starlink access in Iran, though service seems lowered.
“It is patchy, but still there,” he said.
Toker added a broader web blackout that started in Iran on January eighth continued on Monday, with non-satellite connectivity at around 1% of standard ranges in the nation, based on the fixed-line and cell web data NetBlocks tracks.
While it isn’t clear how Starlink’s service was being disrupted in Iran, some specialists said it could possibly be the consequence of jamming of Starlink terminals that would overpower their capacity to obtain alerts from the satellites.
Starlink, which is an element of privately held US company SpaceX, didn’t reply to requests for remark. Authorities in Iran couldn’t be reached on Monday, amid telephone and web outages. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on terrorists and vowed to safeguard the governing system.
Iranians strolling by a building destroyed during the continued protests over financial circumstances in the nation on Jan. 10, 2026. Getty Images
Critical instrument amid global conflicts
The communication lifeline Starlink has supplied for some protesters in Iran is the latest signal of the affect Musk and his satellite tv for pc web service have in global conflicts and unrest around the world.
Starlink has been a important instrument for Ukrainian forces since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. In Myanmar, where the navy junta has imposed repeated web shutdowns, insurgent teams, help organizations and medics have used Starlink for communications. In Sudan, Starlink has also been used by both sides in a years-long civil battle due to extended blackouts.
Iranians protesting close to vehicles set on fire in a road in Tehran. Getty Images
President Trump said on Sunday he plans to converse with Musk about restoring web in Iran, without mentioning Starlink.
Musk beforehand shipped free Starlink terminals, that are barely bigger than a laptop computer, to Ukraine and supplied free web service there. Standard Starlink terminals price around $599, plus a month-to-month service payment, making it unaffordable for many Iranians.
Musk’s capacity to tip the steadiness in global conflicts was demonstrated when he shut down Starlink as Ukraine retook territory from Russia in 2022, GWN beforehand reported.
An Iranian protester holding up a portrait of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in Tehran on Jan. 9, 2026. AP
Starlink isn’t licensed to operate in Iran, but Musk has beforehand said the service is energetic there. In December 2022, he posted on his social media platform X that the company was “approaching 100 Starlinks active in Iran,” a modest determine given Iran’s population of 92 million.
In June last yr, in response to a post on X calling for him to present Starlink access to Iran, Musk posted “beams are on.”
Following the 12-day battle between Iran and Israel in June, Iran’s parliament handed a law formally banning the use of Starlink, introducing extreme penalties for those who use or distribute the unlicensed technology, according to Iranian state media.
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