Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. The OP clips don't explain the main point of the article - they jammed GPS, which ruined Starlink

Starlink users aren't the average person, so participation in the protests isn't the point. It's that they stop news and footage of the killings getting out - or of organizing inside the country, since Starlink is the "back-up" for those with more resources than average (eg the BBC received some casualty reports from doctors, at first).

Military-grade GPS jammers deployed since January 8 have cut satellite internet performance by as much as 80% in parts of the country, according to Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights at the Miaan Group, a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on Iranian internet censorship and digital rights.
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Starlink terminals rely on GPS signals to locate themselves and connect to satellites. By disrupting these signals, Iranian authorities can render the devices unreliable without touching the satellites themselves.

When Russia tried similar jamming in Ukraine, SpaceX responded within hours with software updates that restored service. So far, no such fix has arrived for Iran. SpaceX has not commented on the disruption.