Iranian government interferes with Starlink signals to limit citizens' communications

Starlink experiencing interference in Iran (photo: dok. SpaceX)

JAKARTA - After the Iranian government cut off the internet network in his country, many citizens switched to using Starlink. Unfortunately, this freedom did not last long because the government began targeting the satellite service.

According to reports circulating, the government deliberately interfered with the Starlink internet signal so that residents' communication lines were cut off again. This suspicion arose after several Starlink users in Iran reported problems with data packets that were lost in recent days.

This problem causes data transmission to be unstable. The network is often interrupted when the internet is being used. According to cyber experts, the rate of data packet loss on the Starlink antenna varies, ranging from 30 percent to the highest 80 percent.

"I think this is not a normal signal interference. It seems to be an electronic warfare that is very similar to what is happening in Ukraine," said Amir Rashidi, an Iranian Cyber Security Expert, quoted from PC Mag on Wednesday, January 14.

In line with the loss of Starlink data, there is speculation that Iran deliberately disrupted the satellite internet network with advanced signal jammers from Russia. This technology is estimated to be able to disrupt satellite communications, which have been difficult to penetrate by ordinary internet sensors.

This suspicion is supported by a statement from Satellite Industry Analyst Carlos Placido. The analyst stated that it is not easy to disrupt Starlink because the scale of its network is very large. Depending on the location, there are 16 to 60 satellites that can be placed above users in a certain period of time.

"It's hard to completely disrupt a system with so many connectivity paths," Placido explained. "Starlink currently offers dozens of satellites that can be reached in most areas, (even) providing some alternative links if one of them is disrupted."

Meanwhile, the NasNet activist group said that this situation is like a continuous cat and mouse game between the government and internet service providers. To overcome this problem, NasNet will work with SpaceX to mitigate the impact of Starlink interference.