The American billionaire’s SpaceX group has activated its Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine. This Monday, he also managed to send the necessary kits to benefit from the service.
Mars will still have to wait. Elon Musk, the billionaire at the head of the astronautics group SpaceX, said on the night of Saturday to Sunday that he had activated his satellite internet service in Ukraine, plagued by the offensive of Russian troops. “Starlink service is now up and running. Other equipment is on the way»wrote in a tweet the boss of the company Tesla.
This equipment in question, kits including a Wi-Fi router, power supply, cables, a dish and a tripod, necessary to access the service, were received on Monday. “Starlink – here. Thank you, Elon Musk”, tweeted Mykhailo FedorovUkrainian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Digital Transformation, with a photo of the shipment.
A few days earlier, however, the politician publicly pulled up the suspenders of the billionaire, idolized by communities of fans on the Internet. “While you are trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine!”, had challenged the manager in charge of the digital sector on Twitter. Before adding: “If your rockets land successfully from space, Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civilians! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations.”
As a reminder, the Starlink project constitutes a broadband Internet access service. Its stated objective is to allow the inhabitants of areas poorly served (but not only) by the fixed and mobile networks of telecom operators to access the world wide web… thanks to thousands of small satellites in low orbit (550 kilometers).
Just this Friday, SpaceX had launched a second shipment of fifty Starlink satellites. According to the estimates of the specialized press, the subsidiary has already launched into space not far from 2,000 small machines of 250 kilos, of which a little more than 1,500 are really active.
In France, the device, which currently has more than 100,000 subscribers worldwide, had stirred up criticism from the inhabitants of Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron (Manche). The reason ? A ground station comprising nine domes housing communication antennas with the satellites in question was to emerge in the middle of the village’s fields. In January, the company finally gave up on the project.
On the Ukrainian side, Musk’s decision should therefore make it possible to remedy any network cuts. According to the website Numerama, the latter could intervene in the event of hacking and cyberwar actions organized by Russia. Ruptures of links due to bombardments are also possible. Some interruptions have already been reported in the country.
For the moment, the correspondents of Release present in Ukraine note that the Internet network is functioning well overall.
But however pleasing it may be, this announcement of support against the Russian oppressor also raises several thorny financial questions that are still unanswered. How many kits have been sent? Will Musk charge for these deliveries? For information, to benefit from the service in France, it costs 499 euros to obtain the Starlink kit. The website Phonandroid specifies that an additional 59 euros are necessary for shipping and handling costs. The monthly subscription is 99 euros.
Update : Wednesday, March 2, at 11:35 a.m., with the addition of Ukraine’s receipt of deliveries.