According to reports, Elon Musk-owned Starlink has begun the clampdown on Starlink users in countries where the satellite constellation is unauthorized.
A recent Wall Street investigation revealed that the crackdown is part of the steps taken by the company to close an expanding black market for its satellite kits.
The broadband service which initially allowed roaming, now mandates access only in officially supported areas. Starlink said that users who have been using its roaming plan for more than two months outside the country where they ordered the service, must either change their account country or return to base.
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A report by Wall Street Journal reveals that Starlink users in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Sudan have recently received notifications from Space X regarding termination of access by the end of the month.
The message reads,
“Starting 30 April 2024, you will be unable to connect to the Internet except to access your Starlink account where you can make updates to your account. This restriction does not apply in areas designated as ‘Available’ on the Starlink availability map”.
In response to this, some South African Starlink users have suggested that this change would lead to a market of people willing to offer a paid service to transport the kits to officially supported neighboring countries like Eswatini and Mozambique for the two-month “check-in”.
However, based on Starlink’s email, it does not appear it would allow any access to its roaming plans in countries where Starlink is not yet available.
It is interesting to note that Starlink is yet to secure a license to operate in South Africa, after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) mandated that applicants must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be eligible for licensing.
However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed. Last November Icasa clarified that using Starlinks in this manner is illegal.
In Zimbabwe, following the directive of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), the nation’s telecom regulator, Starlink has warned illegal users in the country in an email that it’ll disable its roaming service.
In the notice, Starlink described the Southern African country as an “unauthorized territory” for its satellite Internet service. Zimbabwe like South Africa, is yet to approve the broadband satellite Internet service as an official provider within the country.
However, Starlink has promised to restore service and notify Zimbabweans once it obtains regulatory approvals from POTRAZ. For now, it offers users the option to temporarily stop its service and billing.
Also, just last month Starlink cut off its Internet services in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month at the prompting of the country’s regulators.