Iran: Starlink in the storm of the digital blackout

As the popular protests in Iran enter an increasingly tense phase, and as Donald Trump promises the protesters that help will arrive soon without explaining what kind of help it might be, one of the crucial dimensions of the crisis is the battle for control of information. Since 8 January 2026, the Iranian authorities have imposed an almost total blackout of the internet and telecommunications, drastically reducing the population's ability to communicate with the outside world. Mobile and fixed networks have been switched off or severely slowed down, with the declared aim of preventing the coordination of demonstrations and the dissemination of images and news about the repression. Not a new move for the ayatollahs' regime, which has always taken great care to switch off the connection when protests broke out in the country.

This time, however, there seems to be a new actor. An actor who has already played a role in Ukraine, for example: Starlink. SpaceX's satellite internet service has emerged in the last 48 hours as one of the few alternative ways to access the global network, in Iran. Sources quoted by Reuters report that some Iranians, particularly in outlying areas or near borders, have managed to use Starlink terminals to circumvent the blackout imposed by the regime. After all, satellite technology has a structural advantage: it is not dependent on state-controlled terrestrial infrastructure, such as fibre cables and mobile repeaters, and is therefore more difficult to block completely.

At the moment, however, there is no evidence that Starlink works in a stable or generalised manner throughout the country. Testimonies collected in recent hours speak of a patchy, intermittent and often unstable connection. In some areas, the service is accessible, in others not, and the quality varies considerably. The regime is also reportedly attempting to locate and confiscate the terminals (i.e. the small antennas that Starlink provides to its users), making the use of the service personally and legally risky.

One of the most discussed points concerns the cost of the service. There are currently no official communications from SpaceX or Elon Musk confirming free access for Iranian users. Some international media have reported that the subscription might be temporarily suspended for those who already own the hardware, but this information has not been formally confirmed by the company. What is certain is that, even if the service were free, it would remain out of reach for the vast majority of Iranians, since they need specific terminals that are scarce in Iran.

It must be said that Starlink is not the only technology theoretically capable of bypassing the blackout, but it is among the few that allow direct and unfiltered access to the Internet. Most of the population remains isolated, however. VPNs, alternative networks and other communication systems do exist, but their effectiveness is very limited in the context of an almost total blackout of the infrastructure.