Elon Musk's Starlink is SpaceX's satellite Internet service that delivers broadband from space rather than relying on the conventional fibre lines and mobile networks, thus making it useful during shutdowns.
While traditional Internet infrastructure that can be switched off by any government nationwide, the satellite connectivity makes it extremely hard to be shut down. Since Starlink does not depend on local towers and state-controlled telecom networks, it's service becomes stable.
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According to space.com, "as of December 19, 2025, there are currently 9,357 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 9,347 are working, according to Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks the constellation on his website".
Over the past years, Elon Musk has provided free Starlink access to people across the world in case of wars, blackouts, conflicts, crises or emergencies.
Here's a list of these countries:
Ukraine: In the beginning of Russia's all-out assault in February of 2022, Musk and Starlink activated the Starlink service, giving away thousands of terminals with complimentary connections to citizens of Ukraine, specifically for civilian, governmental and military use, at no charge or monthly fee connected with a subscription as would usually happen. At the time, SpaceX was reported to donate terminals and to have covered the connectivity charges.
Tonga: In 2022, Tonga lost its ability to connect directly with the rest of the world due to the destruction done to its Internet infrastructure by the eruption of the Hunga Tonga Volcano and the tsunami that followed.
The SpaceX team travelled to Fiji and began establishing a Starlink Gateway station in order to re-establish Tonga's connection with the rest of the world, according to the then-Attorney General of Fiji who was tweeting about the operation in early February 2022. In order to help restore Internet access to many of the island's remote areas, SpaceX also provided Starlink terminals to Tonga, according to a report by FOX Business.
Additionally, during February 2022, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni confirmed that all Starlink services would be offered free of charge during the recovery process caused by the natural disaster and that work would continue until an undersea fibre optic cable could be repaired, according to a Reuters report.
Venezuela: In 2026, Starlink announced it will be giving away free broadband service until February 3, 2026, to people in Venezuela who may have difficulties accessing the internet due to recent US airstrikes and the ouster of the country's President Nicolas Maduro.
According to a press release from Starlink, service credits were added to active and inactive accounts and that they will be monitoring developments in the region closely. Although Venezuela is labelled "coming soon" on the Starlink availability map, Starlink said that users could still access the service using the roaming package.
"While we do (not yet have) a timeline for local purchase availability, if and when there are updates they will be communicated directly through official Starlink channels," it added.
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Iran: This is the latest country to receive free Internet amid massive protests. As Iran reels under a nationwide Internet blackout, Tehran has reportedly deployed Russian military tech to jam Starlink network. As reported by CNN and Bloomberg, Starlink has waived off the subscription fees in Iran, enabling people to access the network without having to pay anything. Reportedly, an estimated 50,000 units have been smuggled into the country which has enabled some Iranians to connect despite the crackdown.
According to Forbes, the jammers have disrupted up to 80 per cent of Starlink's uplink and downlink traffic, targeting GPS signals used by the terminals to connect with satellites.
