The US Agency for International Development said it delivered 5,000 of SpaceX’s Starlink terminals to Ukraine, bolstering internet access for residents following the Russian invasion.
"The terminals will allow public officials and critical citizen service providers to continue to communicate within Ukraine and with the outside world,” even if Russia severs other communications infrastructure in the country, the agency said in a statement Tuesday.
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is deploying its Starlink constellation in low-Earth orbit to sell high-speed internet access around the world, focusing initially on consumers in rural and underserved areas with little or no current web access. The company has said it’s also exploring new business in aviation and maritime industries.
SpaceX activated its Starlink service in Ukraine Feb 26, days after a government minister tweeted at Musk urging him to provide internet access.
"We were close to getting the approvals to offer service but the documents weren’t all signed,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said last month during a panel discussion at the Satellite 2022 conference in Washington. After the conflict began, "they tweeted at my boss and that was permission to provide capability.”
France and Poland also funded some Starlink terminals for Ukraine, the New York Times reported last month. – Bloomberg
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