SpaceX is reportedly close to finalizing a licensing deal to provide Starlink satellite internet terminals to Yemen.
The country could take another month to complete the deal, an unnamed Yemeni government official told Bloomberg. If Yemen receives a Starlink license, it will be one of the few Middle East nations to have authorized use of Starlink.
Yemen, which is in the midst of a civil war between its internationally-recognized government and the Houthi militant group, has some of the slowest internet service in the world. The country’s internet service is also subject to censorship. With Starlink, Yemenis living in Houthi-controlled areas where the group controls telecommunications networks wouldn’t need permission to use the service because it depends on private satellites, Bloomberg reported. Both the government and the Houthis have warned of penalties for illegally using Starlink in the country, the report added.
Starlink terminals are reportedly being traded and used illegally in Yemen and other countries, including Sudan, which is also in the midst of a conflict, and Venezuela, which is under authoritarian rule. People in Yemen are dependent on Starlink to conduct business and personal communications, a government official told Bloomberg.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It is deeply concerning because it’s unregulated and headed by a private company,” Emma Shortis, a senior researcher in international and security affairs at the Australia Institute, told Bloomberg about the use of Starlink in unauthorized places. “There’s no accountability on who has access to it and how it’s being used.”
In February, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said that intercepted radio indicated Russian troops in occupied parts of the country were using Starlink satellites. Andriy Yusov, a Defense Intelligence agency spokesperson, said the use of Starlink terminals by Russian troops “is growing” and “starting to become systemic.” Ukraine received thousands of Starlink terminals in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion. Both SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk and the Kremlin denied the claims.
Musk called the reports “categorically false,” writing on X that “[t]o the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there “is not a certified system with us; accordingly, it cannot be officially supplied here and is not officially supplied” and therefore “cannot be used officially in any way.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency later released another audio recording claiming it was intercepted radio of Russian soldiers discussing buying Starlink terminals from “Arab countries.”