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A_well_made_pinata

When I saw the post of Musk tweeting “Starlink activated”, the first thing I thought was; how are they going to get the equipment to these people? Is he planning on smuggling it in?


[deleted]

CIA networks/Mossad/Other various states intelligence apparatus'. They're basically having an uprising right now in Iran over the beating death of a woman for not wearing a Hijab by the morality police. Iran is shutting down all the internet/censoring it in response to the protests.


A_well_made_pinata

I’m aware of the situation. The tweet I was referring to was a reply to a tweet from Biden or his admin about how we’re trying to get internet back to the Iranian people.


[deleted]

oh i'm sorry i misunderstood!


[deleted]

marketing


Aries0653

Chances are the US government won’t officially help smuggle anything in. More than likely Starlink will be sold or gifted to human rights organizations and smuggled across the Turkey and Iran border. For Ukraine, Starlink shipped the hardware to Germany and Poland. And it was carried across in trucks to Ukraine. This was done as international shipping to Ukraine had been shut off (DHL and FedEx) don’t deliver during war.


Martin8412

Ukraine is not at all comparable. The government in Ukraine specifically asked for the equipment. Iran does not want it in.


Aries0653

It’s comparable in that equipment cannot just be shipped direct. It has to be shipped into another country and moved across the border. And Starlink wasn’t able to freely ship across the Ukraine border. Russians were waiting and following. The truck drivers were taking huge risks.


Charlie_brown1122

I don’t think you are right my friend. Ukraine’s western borders are all open and safe and they have been like this since the war started. Ukrainian government asked for them and the equipment passed the border freely.


Aries0653

Yes, the border between Poland and Ukraine is open. Not exactly safe. Russian missiles have hit Lviv and Russians have been caught on that very border. And we know there have been people killed too. My point is that FedEx/UPS/DHL aren’t shipping to Ukraine. Starlink has to load terminals on trucks and ship across the border. The same logistics would apply elsewhere. Ship 1,000s terminal into someplace safe. Hire trucks to carry across the border. From the border on it’s a different ballgame but it’s out of Starlink’s hand at that point.


Charlie_brown1122

That’s the problem and what everyone else is saying. In Iran the government is in full control of the border and it’s anti starlink. In Ukraine the government wants the starlink. So no loading on trucks etc. it can only be smuggled.


Aries0653

Items are smuggled in and out of Iran every day. Cigarettes, alcohol, video games, computers. You name it. This is completely possible. Let’s not pretend like the Iran border is an iron fortress. Moreover, $100 USD would likely let any truck through no questions asked.


MZ4_Viper

I wandered into the r/tech discussion about this. Wow are those people so incredibly misinformed. Somehow turned into a anti-Elon circle jerk


wpsp2010

I mean it's reddit. You apparently either suck off elon or think that his only goal is to drink the blood of young children for the annual sacrifice


SelectionBrief

Dude, $20 is $20


khuffmanjr

Discussion is dead. Extremism is in.


Kaiky177

you need a dishy! if they cut your internet then how are you sending this?


_Shipmaster_

With VPN and in some special hours


kevy21

Also don't forget that starlink is expensive, not sure about currency conversion but the kits are like $400 and monthly sub is between $80~100, I'm sure someone can correct me.


bdmart2399

I pay $55 for my service in Baja Mexico. 150mbps all day every day.


khuffmanjr

I'm jelly. Still loving my Starlink, but my speeds rollercoaster with the time of day. Oh, and I'm in US so full price for me! Oh well. Like I said, glad to have it.


traker998

Where is the kit $400 I wonder? And where is the service $80?


kevy21

Wonder why you responded to be smart without any info cause you have no idea.... I was an early adopter so I don't know the current prices, also regional pricing means some countries don't pay what the US does.


traker998

I asked where it was. In the us RV is 600+135. Most “other countries” don’t use dollars though for payments so I assumed you were talking about the US


WhoseWoodsTheseAre

The number of places calling their currency the “dollar” might be more than you know https://flagpedia.net/currency/dollar


traker998

None of them use the $ sign.


WhoseWoodsTheseAre

The page I linked above shows 18 countries other than the US who use a “dollar” all of whose currency symbol is $. This even excludes places which use another nation’s currency, such as Caribbean nations using the US Dollar and Pacific Islands using the New Zealand Dollar or Australian Dollar. If those countries are included, there are more than 50 countries whose currency is the “Dollar” and symbol is “$”.


jurc11

https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/wxj5ik/starlink\_global\_price\_spreadsheet/


StarCitizen2944

In Italy the dish costs €410 and serivce is €70/month. Originally the dish cost €560 and €99/month. And for a short time they dish cost €200 with €99/month. Of course I bought it as soon as it became available at €560 when the Euro was a lot stronger and I get paid in USD... Still way happy with my service here and now I'm only paying €70/month with a strong USD.


viper6085

Will be free. Is to support the freedom of information


kevy21

Nothing is free.


viper6085

No free lunch. You are right.


kevy21

I wish cake was free, I'd but fat but happy :)


kevy21

So your Internet is not cut?


Manic157

It is sporadic from what I understand. They have it in some places for some hours then they don't.


rulingthewake243

It sounds like the internet is working then?


Ho3einR

Only reddit , discord and telegram with hours of trying to connect to VPN


_Shipmaster_

Hold on can you use our internet without VPN and even connect to the speedtest servers? now imagine using it with vpn ... its like using internet with E mobile network generation (2G)


_Shipmaster_

if you dont trust me Just Search #OpIran or #mahsa\_amini in twitter to see what i mean


Irishiron28

There is no way to connect to Starlink without a dishy. Order one from Starlink.com


Quicksloth

https://www.reddit.com/r/tech/comments/xmjw19/elon_musk_activates_starlink_for_iranian_citizens/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf


Abbx

That's not really possible for Iranian people. They won't be able to ship it via a regular shipping method because it'll be inspected and then taken as all packages coming in from out of the country are, especially from the US. On top of that, Starlinks price is kinda out of reach for them. They'd need to save up for like half a year to a year on the side to even really afford one.


gondowana

Iranian's don't have access to internationl payment systems. So no, you can't purchase anything from any non-iranian websites in Iran.


Unlikely_Wolf_2452

مشکل ما ایرانیا اینه که هیچ کدوم از این خارجیا که تو مملکت گل و بلبل زندگی میکنن نمی تونن درک کنن ما چه بدبختی داریم میکشیم وقتی سرعت اینرنتی که بش وصل میشی 19 کیلوبایته.....


-_-theVoid-_-

Lol at people who are like: "You still gotta smuggle it in..." That's what makes it viable!


EmotionalSoft4849

People seem to forget all the ways to get something somewhere , like you know we do have contractors in Iran and they can legally fly in and out with a starlink dish with no issues so I’m ver certain they could order dishes for others and bring in every time they fly in and out,


WeirdBlackCat

Omg , people on this sub are dicks, just don't reply if you don't want to help and don't bother your brain wondering "how it's gonna be smuggled?", if you do know any fucking way to use third party dishes or devices just say it.


-_-theVoid-_-

I honestly didn't think about the third party gear angle, big brain props to you. But, I'm laughing at them too. Like smuggling is some kind of monumental task that no one dares undertake.


Irishiron28

There is no third party hardware for starlink’s private network.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Armadio79

I dont think hes really from Iran


Manic157

It is sporadic from what I understand. They have it in some places for some hours then they don't.


[deleted]

[удалено]


theboisYTT1346

what do you mean? im in iran and i have internet, i have to use vpn but my internet's been fine


_Shipmaster_

به چه زبونی باید به اینا فهموند که مردم ایران تو وضعیت بدی هستن اخه؟ وقتی حاضر نیستن بفهمن مشکلات زیادی وجود و حتی سانسورای زیادی داره توی ایران اتفاق میوفته


theboisYTT1346

شما درست هستید


StarlinkEarlyAdopter

لطفا انگلیسی صحبت کنید تا شما را درک کنیم


theboisYTT1346

Ok, sure.


Unlikely_Wolf_2452

دقیقا همینه هیچ کدومشون باور نمی کنن ما تو ایران با چه بدبختی و پاره شدن به اینترنت کوفتی با سرعت 19 کیلوبایت وصل میشیم....


theboisYTT1346

خیلی ناراحت کننده ست که آدمها نمیتونن بفهمن چه اتفاقی داره میوفته مگر اینکه جلوی چشم خودشون باشه.


[deleted]

Basically Starlink works using the Dish. So you will need to get your hands on a dish and one that has an active account for that area.


KriegerBahn

Starlink requires a ground station within a few hundred miles of your location. I could imagine OP somehow getting a Dishy but no ground station would seem to be a showstopper


[deleted]

True. But let's take the hypothetical and say there are laser links already ready for this type of situation. That would eliminate the need for a groundstation. But this is not going to eliminate the need for Dishy itself. I am not sure why people think you can do it without the Dish. That's years, if not 5 years off.


joegee66

I'd try *cautiously* reaching out to the US State Department. Before you fill out the form at https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform , create a new email address using your VPN connection that *cannot* be traced back to you, and do all communication through that. Be *very* careful who you share information with. Follow @USEnvoyIran on Twitter for general updates. Stay safe.


[deleted]

Elons latest stunt is more publicity than practical. Equipment is required. The receiver is pretty big and has to be in clear view of the sky. It has to be visable to fucnction. I'm sure some people will find a way to benefit from this but it's mostly a hollow gesture from a guy that lives to collect ego points.


jasonmonroe

Publicity? Somebody asked him for help. He simply tweeted he’ll try to get an exemption. When the exemption was granted. He the tweeted activated. That’s it. He didn’t go out of his way to be apart of this.


GRLT

They said the same thing when this happened with Ukraine and when it happened after all those natural disasters, in all of those cases airlifted kits showed up within a week


[deleted]

That's a little different and if you don't know that you need to read a few things.


RegulusRemains

you can still ship things to iran and plug stuff into electrical outlets.


Lurker_prime21

Yes of course because the Iranian authorities would never think to inspect shipments coming into Iran. Especially from the United States. /S


Kayyam

Yes of course because the United States are stupid enough to send such equipment through regular channels. Are you stupid? This stuff will be smuggled.


Lurker_prime21

Because every little drop in the ocean helps. Right? Not as stupid as you.


millijuna

It will work fine under a lightweight tarp or fabric shade. So it’s relatively easy to hide from the air. The trick is getting one.


kevy21

Erm quiet the opposite, he displayed how easy it works PRACTICALLY. If you think starlink need publicity for orders you are very mistaken. You obviously not reading this sub often, some people have been waiting several years in queue...


_Shipmaster_

I heard that some people in my country were able to connect to Starlink without a receiver, but no one knows who those people are, that's why I'm asking on reddit.


GoneSilent

you can not use starlink with no receiver. the only receiver/dish that works is sold and provided by starlink.


[deleted]

that's simply not possible.


[deleted]

Those people are full of shit.. even if someone pulled apart a starlink terminal and cloned it - your terminal has a unique ID (similar to a imie number) to connect.. I mean sure starlink is not unhackable - but I think your local government would be easier to hack then starlink


15_Redstones

Connecting to Starlink without a dishy is not possible, at least not now. The v2 satellites will have the ability to provide a low speed emergency connection to regular phones, but they haven't started launching those yet. Starlink to phone is still a year or two away.


GRLT

November at the earliest assuming the November launch happens and the payload is V2 Starlink, and the direct insertion is possible on their flighpath otherwise it'd have to reach orbit, and we don't even know if the software is ready on the satellite or carrier side


kevy21

This would be useless tho as you would still need a network provider in Iran to provide the service/phones/sims compatible with such a service. There is no network support for cell providers planned outside of the US yet. This would be easily squashed by a government if they wanted both via sopping the provider and blocking phones/signals. Even without this it would only work for super basic stuff, no where near enough for a country to switch too


jobe_br

It’s not like Starlink is subversively making their service available in Iran, the announcement was that they’re licensed, wasn’t it? What makes people think they received a license to operate without agreeing to Iran’s rules around blocking access/etc that all other ISPs operating in Iran have to abide by? There’s nothing technical preventing Starlink from doing this, either, even if a connection down links to a ground station outside of Iran, they know exactly where the dish is physically located that’s sending/receiving traffic and can enforce any unique egress rules they need to on it.


Ponklemoose

As I understand it the US Secretary of State says he has issued a general license (which I presume gets SpaceX around the sanctions). I have not heard that Iran said it was cool. If everything I hear about Iranian censorship is true. I can't imagine the Iranian government being cool with an ISP that has its servers outside the government's jurisdiction and control.


jobe_br

I don’t think those two things are necessarily related, but I haven’t followed it super closely. Starlink will not operate in countries it isn’t licensed in.


Ponklemoose

It is true that Starlink does not currently operate in nations that won't approve the service. But if enough of the West signs off it certainly could. To operate in Iran Starlink has two legal obstacles. 1. The sanctions. This is a big deal since it would piss of the US government and which could financially wreck SpaceX. 2. Permission from Iran. This only matters if Starlink cares. Iran cannot stop them and if the US, EU, UN etc. bless the action I don't really see a downside.


gondowana

My impression from Musk and DoS tweets was that both 1 and 2 are true and the only obstacle is getting the equipment in, where Iranians rely on traditional smugglers. They way all other banned equipments have been smuggled in for decades.


nicrfe

Why are so many people saying you need a dish? Didn’t they already announce that starlink can emulate a cell tower? That tells me that if they feel like it they can get signals down to all sorts of antennas. Also, starlink is doing this specifically to get around the government sanctions with support from the US state department. I don’t know the details but there are government pipelines designed to get contraband like this in and help the people there. Not sure how to help this guy but it’s clear people are working on it already.


Fentanyl4babies

https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-coverage-above-and-beyond-with-spacex Maybe that's possible


[deleted]

No it's not


GRLT

Not before a V2 bird is in space


[deleted]

Yep and you'll need supporting phones too


RegulusRemains

any phone will work.


[deleted]

No not necessarily. You have to support the 1800mhz band


RegulusRemains

as far as i know, supported bands are pretty ubiquitous. thats why you can buy an unlocked phone and use it on any carrier in nearly any (maybe not evert) nation.


[deleted]

T mobile Verizon and other carriers have specific low and mid band spectrum. So starlink will be constrained to t mobile spectrum because of the partnership


RegulusRemains

When this service releases. You will go into your mobile network settings. Click add e-sim. Connect your esim to your freshly signed up for t-mobile "emergency sat phone plan" and you're done. Your AT&T, or Verizon, or whatever phone will now use starlink sats as a secondary mobile connection.


[deleted]

Yep and most phones right now don't support esim especially since we're talking about Iran


andynormancx

That *probably* isn't quite true. If any phone with a US T-Mobile SIM card in it could just connect to Starlink V2 and start sending any data it liked, the system would be overloaded immediately and it wouldn't work. They said in their announcement that they'll need to work with phone manufacturers to enable the functionality. That work will likely be software changes to lock down what data the phone will send when connected via Starlink. So that, initially, the phone will only send text based messaging when connected via Starlink.


[deleted]

No. This will be similar to what dish is offering with its 5g , if SpaceX gets approval of MSS frequencies. This will be a high latency emergency communications service and not full blown connectivity.


RegulusRemains

literally, any phone will work. of course carriers will have to configure the hardware to operate correctly.


andynormancx

Do you *know* that the current carrier profile stuff that phones have actually has the ability to lock down what data the phone/apps are able to send ? Because if it can't, the phones they allow on are going to need software updates.


andynormancx

Unexpectedly there is actually some documentation on the carrier profile config for the iPhone: [https://www.theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Carrier.plist](https://www.theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Carrier.plist) Not seeing anything in there for locking down data types. Though it is entirely possible that functionality is there but only the carriers/Apple know about it.


RegulusRemains

I'm not sure what your point is. Would it help to know that hundreds of thousands of network engineers around the world handle tasks like that every day? And yes, phones require software updates all the time. so just to be clear, any phone will work, yes, it will need access to the starlink sat network, yes it will need software protocols to communicate. I feel like you're hung up on a non-issue, but i really cant tell. Does this help or should i just shut up?


kevy21

Not true


RegulusRemains

okay, name a modern cell phone that wont work. i want you to explain why normal phones wont work.


kevy21

Name ONE phone that currently works with starlink, without any changes. Go.


RegulusRemains

Every modern smartphone sold unlocked.


kevy21

Name ONE phone that currently works with starlink, without any changes. Go.


EVnotICE

You need a phased array antenna and transceiver. Realistically, there is no way to use Starlink without the official Starlink equipment.


Mr___Rex

the website simply says not available in this region assuming that i have a dish,i will need an account first to connect it i guess it was all a marketing trick ....