Iran has been jamming Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service as part of a near-total internet blackout aimed at concealing a violent crackdown on protesters, experts say. The blackout began on Thursday amid widespread demonstrations against the country's economic crisis, with human rights groups reporting at least 646 protesters killed.
Starlink, which has grown significantly in Iran since its introduction in 2022, with estimates of between 50,000 and 100,000 terminals, was targeted by GPS jamming on Thursday evening. Mahsa Alimardani, a specialist in digital repression at Witness, told The Independent that the jamming affects how satellite receivers work, but has not been entirely effective. Most information reaching the outside world since the blackout began has come from Starlink-connected devices.
However, Alimardani noted that Starlink is not a solution for Iran's 90 million people under blackout due to limited hardware. A potential alternative is direct-to-cell satellite technology, where satellites act as cell towers, but this would require working with local carriers or purchasing spectrum ranges, and would be a long-term, costly project. The proposal has been sent to the US government and policymakers.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Monday that the internet would be restored in cooperation with security forces, but gave no timeframe. The regime has a history of internet blackouts, dating back to 2009 protests, and has since centralised internet infrastructure to facilitate such shutdowns.
