Sahand is part of a clandestine network that is smuggling Starlink terminals into Iran, where the devices are illegal and the country has been in digital darkness for more than two months. He said he has sent a dozen terminals since January, most recently into a country that cut off much of its internet after US and Israeli airstrikes on 28 February.
Each terminal links to SpaceX’s satellite network and can completely bypass Iran’s heavily controlled domestic internet. Sahand said several people can connect to one terminal at the same time, making each device more than a private workaround. “If even one extra person is able to access the internet, I think it’s successful and it’s worth it,” he said.
The scale of demand reflects how severe the shutdown has become. Internet access had been partially restored for just a month after a previous shutdown in January, before the latest blackout hit. Witness estimated in January that there were at least 50,000 Starlink terminals in Iran, while a volunteer involved with the NasNet Telegram channel said about 5,000 terminals have been sold through the channel over the past two and a half years.
That trade is playing out against a punishing legal backdrop. Iran passed legislation last year making the use, purchase or sale of Starlink devices punishable by up to two years in prison, and distributing or importing more than 10 terminals can bring a sentence of up to 10 years. State-affiliated media reported last month that four people were arrested for importing satellite internet equipment.
The blackout has been enforced in a country with one of the longest-running national internet shutdowns ever recorded worldwide, and officials have said the shutdown during the war was for security reasons, citing surveillance, espionage and cyber-attack concerns. Iran also has a long history of controlling information through state media and restrictions on reporting about repression, which helps explain why satellite links have become so valuable to people trying to stay connected.
For Sahand, the risk is not abstract. “If I was identified by the Iranian regime, they might make those I’m in touch with in Iran pay the price,” he said. He described the operation as “very complex” and said the terminals have to be smuggled through the borders. The next question is how long people inside Iran can keep relying on illegal satellite links as the crackdown, the blackout and the penalties around them all harden at once.
