Elon Musk said his satellite-internet system Starlink is “active” on all continents. However, the availability map on Starlink’s website says otherwise.
“Starlink is now active on all continents, including Antarctica,” Musk tweeted.
Availability
But the availability map of the low-latency, high-speed satellite internet service only appears “available” across the Americas, Europe, Australia — Russia, China, and Iran appear to be blocked with no service in the foreseeable future. And not even a sign of progress in Africa (nevertheless Musk’s home country of South Africa).
Even though Ukraine is shown on the “waitlist” with service not officially available – there have been countless stories in Western media about how Musk’s space satellites changed the war on the ground against Russia. Maybe there’s more than meets the eye, as coverage is more widespread than reported on the map.
Starlink Satellites
This month, more than 2,300 Starlink satellites are in orbit. Another 54 Starlink satellites via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 reusable rocket were launched into space on Sunday night from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Last week, Musk tweeted Starlink “is meant for peaceful use only,” in what appears to be a response to Russia’s complaints about Western countries using “elements of civilian, including commercial, infrastructure in outer space for military purposes” at a recent United Nations meeting.
“It seems like our colleagues do not realize that such actions in fact constitute indirect involvement in military conflicts” Konstantin Vorontsov, the head of the Russian delegation to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs working group, said last week.
Worldwide Expansion
“Internet access is an important tool for protesters and activists in Iran, which blocks many services like YouTube and many foreign media outlets in an effort to impose what the country describes as a halal internet, or one that conforms to its interpretation of Islamic law,” said WSJ.