Biden looks to Musk’s Starlink to deliver promised Internet access in Iran
Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)
Last month, Elon Musk offered activists protesting in Iran uncensored Internet access, and a US State Department official said that the US would also be taking steps to help Iranians connect. Without delay, Musk activated SpaceX's satellite Internet service Starlink, and he said all he needed to get Iranian protesters online was to somehow install special terminals in Iran that could receive the signal. So far, Musk tweeted that only a few terminals have been installed in the country.
More are still needed, and now it looks like the US could possibly be taking steps to help with that. CNN reports that multiple US officials confirmed that the Biden administration is in talks with Musk to potentially follow through on Biden's promise earlier this month and actually help set up broad access to Starlink in Iran. CNN says it's not clear yet if those discussions will lead to the US offering to pay for the special terminals to be set up, however.
We have our foot on the gas to do everything we possibly can to support the aspirations of the Iranian people," one senior administration official told CNN.