When Elon Musk tweets, his ads go viral. This is the case of his tweet published on September 20, which consists of two words. As Iran suffers from internet outages and restrictions on access to social networks, Elon Musk has found the solution: Starlink. But, in fact, Starlink will not be able to compensate for the short-term Internet outage and this, for various reasons, points out the interception.
Starlink allows connect to the internet via satellite especially in places where the network is poor or non-existent, requiring the purchase of a plate. Satellite connection is present on all continents and theoretically available in Iran.
Alp Toker, director of Internet censorship and surveillance group NetBlocks, calls Starlink’s presence in Iran “credible and valuable” in the long run. But the difficulty of obtaining Starlink equipment means that access to them remains “a solution for a few”, and not for the entire population, he analyzes for the American media.
The project of the richest man in the world has been well received, but not in Iran, which punishes any US interference. It seems unlikely that the government would tolerate the importation of technology intended to circumvent its own power of censorship.
The first reason for these obstacles is geopolitical. Three days after Elon Musk’s tweet, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the United States would ease restrictions on technology exports to help counter Iranian state censorship efforts. A godsend for Musk.
Still, lifting some restrictions would be tricky. The tech sector sanctions are called GHRAVITY and are related to human rights sanctions. Relaxing the rules would require a special license to use Starlink in Iran.
Another difficulty is that Starlink’s satellite connections are subject to regulation by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), of which the United States and Iran are members. Starlink must obtain regulatory approval. It seems unlikely that such an exception will see the light of day anytime soon.
technical barriers
The other great difficulty is technical and refers to the connection of SpaceX to the terrestrial Internet infrastructure. These facilities require agreements from the countries concerned. Again, Iran is unlikely to approve the construction of satellite facilities owned by an American contractor on its territory.
False information has even circulated about the routing of Starlink dishes in Iran. But the photo used 2020 date. On several occasions, Elon Musk has placed Starlink as the solution to all the world’s ills: either to save Thai children trapped in a cave, from the Covid-19 pandemic, or to replenish transport infrastructure. Promises that, however, can materialize: thanks to the support of the Ukrainian government, Starlink has made it possible to connect tens of thousands of people, in areas where the telecommunications infrastructure was destroyed by the war against Russia.
Source: BFM TV
