Elon Musk is trying to solve Ukraine's internet crisis with Starlink delivery

Date:
Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:39:21 +0000

Description:
Ukrainian government says it received a shipment of Starlink terminals less than 48 hours after Elon Musk offered assistance.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The Ukrainian government confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a shipment of Starlink satellite internet terminals less than two days after Starlink
CEO Elon Musk responded to a plea for support on Twitter. Starlink here. Thanks, @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/dZbaYqWYCf February 28, 2022 See more

The Starlink dishes were sent in response to a February 26 tweet by the Ukrainian vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, directly asking Musk for
help securing Starlink equipment.

Starlink satellites provide relatively fast internet service for residential customers, but generally don't serve as the primary connection point for the kind of sprawling IT infrastructure needed by large organizations and government agencies to operate.

But with the threat of Russian forces cutting off access to landline internet connections, any internet at this point is probably sorely needed. Analysis: It's a good gesture on Starlink's part, but it could do more harm than good

Given the state of things in Ukraine at the moment, any relief is likely welcome, especially when so much of our modern communications infrastructure is built on internet connections that are prime targets for hostile forces.

As Reuters reports, though, internet security pros are wary that the new Starlink terminals could be dangerous. Re: @elonmusk's starlink donation.Good to see.But remember: if #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users' uplink transmissions become beacons... for airstrikes. Some background 1/ pic.twitter.com/0p6J87TtUF February 27, 2022 See more

Others note that since Starlink dishes need a clear view of the sky to function, they need to be placed on the roofs of tall buildings in urban environments, which is a particularly vulnerable position when the airspace over a city is contested.

Still, you can't expect to avoid risk when your country is being invaded, and being cut off from the world completely is a far greater risk than having satellite dishes targeted by aircraft. Starlink satellites mar a fifth of asteroid-spotting telescope's critical observations



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/elon-musk-is-trying-to-solve-ukraines-internet- crisis-with-starlink-delivery/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)