Iran has been gripped by unrest for the past 18 days amid nationwide protests and a heavy security crackdown. Reports suggest that more than 500 people have died during the Khamenei government’s response. As part of the measures to control the situation, authorities shut down internet services across the country, cutting off communication with the outside world.
In the absence of conventional internet access, Elon Musk’s satellite-based service, Starlink, emerged as a crucial channel for information to flow out of Iran. However, that option has now also been effectively disabled.
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According to reports, the Iranian authorities are using a special “kill switch” to jam Starlink signals. Initially, around 30 per cent of uplink and downlink traffic was disrupted, but within a few hours, the disruption reportedly increased to nearly 80 per cent. As a result, Starlink’s service in Iran is now said to be almost completely paralysed. Experts believe that highly advanced and expensive military-grade jammers are being used for this purpose.
Military experts believe that Russia or China has likely provided Iran with these jammers. This is because both countries have the technological capability to jam GPS signals. Russia has been seen using similar technology in the Ukraine war. On the other hand, such technology has also been observed in China's military exercises surrounding Taiwan. Israeli journalist Emily Schrader has claimed that Chinese fingerprints are clear in the jamming pattern.
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At present, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people in Iran are using Starlink’s internet service. That connection has now also been cut off following this development. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has stated that he will speak with Elon Musk in an attempt to restore internet services in Iran. Whether Starlink’s technology can overcome the reported kill switch and reconnect nearly 80 crore people to the digital world remains uncertain.
