In the past two years since SpaceX was given the green light by Washington for its satellite internet service, a clandestine international network of smuggling and advocacy has provided uncensored internet to thousands in the Islamic Republic.
Within Iran's Prospering Underground Market for Starlink Satellite Devices
In the chilly month of November, Mohammad, a 38-year-old construction consultant from a city in southern Iran, awaited in a dim alley near his apartment. He was due to meet with a representative from a seller he found on Telegram. Mohammad was ready to shell out $700 in U.S. dollars for an illicit device, believed to pose a threat to the regime in Tehran: a Starlink terminal, promising him unrestricted, free access to the internet.
Starlink, a satellite internet service developed by SpaceX, is illegal in Iran, which boasts some of the most restrictive internet policies worldwide. Major tech platforms such as the Apple and Google app stores, Instagram, and Slack have been blocked by the government's censors. Critical comments or anti-Islamic sentiments often land individuals in prison.
However, the use of Starlink has escalated in the last two years post SpaceX founder Elon Musk's decision to activate the service. Encouraged by this move, smugglers have been sneaking terminals into Iran. Threats of fines and imprisonment have failed to deter the black market fueled by a growing activist movement, determined to access the internet. Our sources suggest that an estimated 20,000 individuals in Iran now enjoy high-speed, government-censored internet.
While it might seem like a handful compared to Iran's 89 million inhabitant's, the exorbitant resale prices make the terminals a luxury only accessible to the privileged few - selling for between $700 and $2,000, significantly more than a typical American retail price of $250.
The monthly $70 subscription fee requires meticulous workarounds since American sanctions have impacted Iranian banks. Users also have to pay a one-time $200 "outside region" fee to activate Starlink in a foreign country.
For some, the reasons to acquire a Starlink terminal range from the personal to the political. Unrestricted internet provides swift video call and gaming speeds, unfettered social media access, and the freedom to express themselves without repercussions. Starlink users, conversing with Our Website, revealed that they found an effortless means of communicating with foreign clients and an enhanced tool for opposing the government.
"An expansive adoption of Starlink in Iran could be the technological breakthrough we've been waiting for in our crusade against regime's digital suppression," declared Ahmad Ahmadian, Executive Director of Holistic Resilience, an activist group based in Los Angeles. "Starlink has the potential to shatter the Islamic Republic's digital iron curtain, much like how Radio Free Europe aided in dismantling Soviet Union's barrage of propaganda."
For Mohammad, revered as a construction consultant, Starlink promised to boost his business, which was hindered by Iran's slow internet connection. He sometimes struggled to access foreign clients' Dropbox and transmit professional documents.
Although he found a seller on NasNet, a Persian-language Telegram channel promoting Starlink usage, Mohammad's experience with acquiring the terminal was understated. "I simply told the delivery guy my location, and the terminal arrived like a pizza," he revealed.
In addition to smuggling Starlinks, NasNet also shares YouTube videos with detailed installation and problem-solving guidelines, mainly authored by an Iranian woman who has lived in Europe for a decade and requested anonymity to maintain her privacy. She confirmed that an open, uncensored, and high-speed internet connection could be life-changing.
"The concept of unrestricted internet is almost unbelievable for many Iranians," she admitted. "It's like an overly thirsty person stumbling upon a well in the midst of a desert – initially, they can't believe its existence. Then, they consume as much as they can."
Starlink first arrived in Iran in 2022, when the public resoundingly protested against the alleged police beating of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, whose 'crime' involved not following Iran's strict dress code. The Iranian government employed their standard tactic of Internet censorship to stifle the protests.
The events spurred the U.S. Treasury and State Departments to issue a rare exception to sanctions for communications services. Three days later, Musk activated Starlink services in Iran, stating, "It requires the use of terminals in-country, which I suspect the government will not approve of, but if anyone can smuggle terminals into Iran, they will work." Musk and SpaceX did not respond to Our Website's request for comment.
As of now, SpaceX, worth an estimated $350 billion according to CNBC, is the current owner of this valuation.
Yahyanejad posed suggestions to SpaceX to enhance the terminals for Iranian consumers. He suggested the company incorporate foldable pole mounts, making them more portable in a backpack, and replace the proprietary cable with detachable ethernet cables. This modification, according to him, was carried out by SpaceX. However, the Iranian government, in its plea to the Telecommunications Union, a UN body based in Geneva, Switzerland, has reportedly struggled to trace the devices due to their compact nature, allowing a single terminal to fit comfortably in a backpack.
Mohammad is mindful of the hazards associated with his new internet connection. Starlink terminals are designed to be installed externally with an unobstructed sky view, but he has placed his terminal indoors, near his balcony door, and covered it with a black curtain. "I can't put full faith in my neighbors as yet," he stated.
As a result, the internet speed is significantly slower than expected, possibly half the capacity he estimates. Yet, he considers it worthwhile: it's "significantly better than my previous internet."
[Image from original article]
(The original story can be found here)
- Despite NASA's protests to the Telecommunications Union, the compact size of the illicit Starlink terminals smuggled into Iran has made it challenging for the government to trace the devices, as mentioned by Yahyanejad, a Starlink user and advocate.
- Iran's government has been unsuccessful in curtailing the use of Starlink, a satellite internet service developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX, despite its illegal status and significant resale prices, leading to an estimated 20,000 individuals in Iran gaining high-speed internet access.
- In response to the protests against the alleged police beating of Mahsa Amini in 2022, SpaceX founder Elon Musk activated Starlink services in Iran, providing a means of uncensored internet access to thousands in the Islamic Republic.
