Ukraine receives shipment of Starlink terminals less than 48 hours after Elon Musk promised them
A Ukrainian official tweeted a picture of a truckload of Starlink user terminals on Monday
Ukraine received a shipment of Starlink terminals on Monday, less than 48 hours after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the service was activated in Ukraine to alleviate some of the internet disruptions the country is experiencing amid Russia's invasion and cyberattacks.
Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted a photo of a truckload of Starlink terminals around 10:00 p.m. in Ukraine on Monday evening, confirming that they had arrived.
"You are most welcome," Musk responded.
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Musk previously said on Saturday that Starlink was active in Ukraine and terminals were en route after Fedorov reached out to him on Twitter.
Oleg Kutkov, an engineer who is based in Kyiv, tweeted that Starlink was working in Ukraine on Monday evening with download speeds of 137 megabits per second.
SpaceX has launched about 2,000 Starlink satellites into low-earth orbit, which provide high-speed internet by connecting with user terminals on the ground, like the ones that Ukraine received on Monday.
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Ukraine experienced periodic internet outages last week as Russian forces invaded from the north, south, and east, according to internet monitor NetBlocks.
Because Starlink does not rely on traditional ground internet infrastructure, it's theoretically an ideal service in warzones, disaster situations, and other hard-to-reach areas.
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After a volcano erupted and cut off south Pacific islands in Tonga last month, SpaceX sent Starlink terminals free of charge while a submarine cable is repaired.
Starlink's basic service is $99 a month and its premium service, which is expected to launch later this year, is $500 a month.