the war could prolong the chip shortage as both Russia and Ukraine export crucial materials used to produce microchips.
Starlink operates in several countries worldwide, including the U.S., and plans to extend its services to many more markets. However, the service has gotten off to a rocky start in some countries, including India, where the regulators have asked the company to stop taking advance payments without regulatory clearances and a definite launch date. The service has also come under the scanner in the U.S., where many customers have complained of long wait periods and an inability to customer service representatives after paying a $100 deposit.
In a tweet on Saturday evening, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX' had activated its Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. The tweet came a few hours after Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine in an imioned plea. In a tweet earlier in the day, Fedorov suggested that providing Starlink services in the region is more critical than colonizing Mars and sending rockets to space. In his tweet, Musk also said that more Starlink terminals are en route but didn't explain how he would get the equipment into Ukraine amid the conflict.
Starlink Continues Its Satellite Launches
SpaceX launched dozens more Starlink satellites this week as part of its plans to provide low-latency broadband internet services worldwide. The company has launched more than 2,000 satellites over the past couple of years and plans to launch thousands more in the future. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted SpaceX permission to launch up to 12,000 mini-satellites, which Musk believes will help Starlink deliver satellite internet services to distant and far-flung locations worldwide.
Meanwhile, with the war between Russia and Ukraine in full swing, global businesses are reaching out to victims and people caught up in the crossfire. Many telecom carriers from the U.S. and Europe are already MWC 2022 has banned the Russian pavilion from the yearly showcase next week.
Source: Elon Musk/Twitter