FILE PHOTO: This photo taken on September 17, 2025 shows what appears to be a Starlink satellite dish on the roof of a building at the KK Park complex in Myanmar's eastern Myawaddy township, as pictured from Mae Sot district in Thailand's border province of Tak. SpaceX has cut service to more than 2,500 Starlink devices at scam centres in Myanmar, a company vice-president said on October 22, 2025, after AFP revealed that the use of the satellite internet terminals had exploded in the illicit industry. - AFP
PARIS: Elon Musk's Starlink, whose internet services have been utilised by Myanmar scam centres, has seen its use across the country plummet since the end of September, according to estimates from regional internet registry Apnic.
An AFP investigation recently revealed the presence of the US company's receivers on several of the centres.
Up to 14 per cent of Myanmar's Internet users connected using Starlink this summer, making it the most popular provider, but that share fell to less than seven per cent by November 10, according to Apnic.
Drone footage captured as part of an AFP investigation published in mid-October revealed long rows of Starlink satellite antennas on the rooftops of the KK Park scam centre, on the border with Thailand.
Shortly afterwards, Starlink's parent company SpaceX announced it had deactivated more than 2,500 of its internet receivers "in the vicinity of suspected 'scam centres'" in Myanmar.
Starlink has also been the subject of a US Congressional investigation since late July over its role in providing internet access to the centres, which have victims worldwide.
The company became the country's most popular Internet service provider for the first time on June 26, 2025, two months after its initial listing with Apnic.
The satellite internet service held this top position until the end of September, except for a few days, but dropped to fourth on November 9.
Most of the scam centres, which tend to involve romance and commercial fraud, are controlled by Chinese criminal groups in collusion with Myanmar militias.
Since mid-October, the military junta has conducted high-profile raids on KK Park.
An analysis of satellite images by AFP this week revealed damage, even demolition, to around 100 buildings.
But three-quarters of the surface of the complex - as seen from above - appeared to be intact, as of Sunday (Nov 9).
Experts say that the Myanmar junta turns a blind eye to the scam networks. In return, its militia allies control border areas on its behalf.
The country has been ravaged by civil war since the February 2021 coup. - AFP
