Ukrainian troops fear losing internet access on the frontlines in the conflict with the Russian military amid an outage of 1,300 Starlink satellite internet units, CNN reported on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2022) Ukrainian troops fear losing internet access on the frontlines in the conflict with the Russian military amid an outage of 1,300 Starlink satellite internet units, CNN reported on Friday.
The outage, which started on October 24, is taking place due to lack of funding to pay for the satellite internet service, run by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX company, the report said.
The 1,300-unit outage affects a set of terminals purchased from a UK company in March and used in combat-related operations, the report said.
SpaceX charged Ukraine $2,500 per month to keep the units connected, totaling nearly $20 million in costs by September, the report said. Ukraine reached a point where they could no longer afford to pay for the satellite internet service, the report also said.
In September, SpaceX sent a letter to the US Defense Department requesting funding for the Starlink systems in Ukraine, claiming it could no longer pay for the service out of pocket. However, Musk later withdrew the request.
Nevertheless, negotiations between SpaceX and the Defense Department about the satellite internet service for Ukraine continue despite the withdrawn request, the report added.
In October, Ukrainian Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Musk gave assurances that Starlink will continue operations in Ukraine.
