According to Ukrainian officials, Elon Musk's SpaceX has been sending more Starlink terminals to Ukraine, which are now arriving every other day. Moreover, the reports confirm that the quality of the technology's internet service is excellent.
It wasn't too long ago that Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reached out to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Twitter with a request for Starlink satellite internet. Musk said it was active in Ukraine, and terminals were on the way. Within fewer than 48 hours, the terminals arrived in the country.
Since then, there have been many reports saying the technology is up and running, and appears to be working as advertised. Not long after the first shipment of Starlink terminals was delivered to the war-torn country, more were on the way. When the second batch arrived, there were also Tesla Powerwall batteries and solar inverters in the shipment.
Little did we know, Musk has actually been sending new shipments of the Starlink terminals to Ukraine just about every other day, and now there are thousands already in use in the country. This information came directly from a recent interview during which Fedorov shared details with The Washington Post, which were discovered and shared by our friends at Teslarati. Fedorov noted that the terminals and the service have been "very effective." He shared:
“The quality of the link is excellent. We are using thousands, in the area of thousands, of terminals with new shipments arriving every other day."
Perhaps even more compelling, especially for people looking for actual proof of what the Starlink technology is capable of, The Washington Post interview with Fedorov was carried out with the minister relying on the Starlink connection and broadcasting from a secret area.
While Fedorov didn't provide an exact number, a source familiar with the situation in Ukraine said there are now over 5,000 Starlink terminals in the country. The minister did say he has plans to send terminals to various locations in the country where the internet is needed most.
With all of that said, the technology is still in its infancy. For this reason, experts aren't quite sure of its safety and security. Some warn that Russia could figure out how to detect the signals and locate the terminals. At the same time, and for the same reason, the technology could be difficult for the Russians to hack.
Still, even Musk himself issued some warnings about the potential for the Russians to target the Starlink terminals. He told Ukrainians to use the service with caution and place light camo over the antenna so it can't be easily seen.
More importantly, the CEO suggested he's working to make the service less prone to attacks.
At any rate, the technology is proving exceedingly helpful thus far, and with more on the way on a regular basis, it should continue to provide a quality connection for Ukraine's citizens and government officials.
Lede Image Source: Starlink
*The lede image is not affiliated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine
