Elon Musk kept his promise to send devices to access Starlink satellite internet to Ukraine. Isn't it tight?
A few days ago, the SpaceX CEO said that his party had sent a truckload of terminal devices (to access Starlink connections) to Ukraine. The shipment has now arrived, which was confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov on his Twitter account.
"Starlink has arrived. Thank you @elonmusk," Fedorov tweeted on his @FedorovMykhailo account, while posting a picture of a truck containing Starlink terminal devices.
As is known, to be able to access Starlink devices, users must use a terminal, which is a flat white satellite dish - which is usually sold - from Starlink. This dish is used to send and receive signals from the Starlink satellites.
Previously, Musk had also confirmed that his party had activated the Starlink service for the Ukraine region. This was confirmed by Oleg Kutkov, a Ukrainian resident living in Kyiv, who claimed to receive a Starlink signal within 10 seconds of turning on the device.
"I honestly don't believe that this can work. I think there will be obstacles, or problems with Dishy (name of Starlink satellite dish). I got fast speeds, very good connections," he explained, as quoted by The Verge, Wednesday (2/2). /3/2022).
Kutkov had actually purchased Starlink terminal equipment several months ago, long before Russia invaded Ukraine. But he couldn't use it because the service wasn't activated at that time.
But now the service can be used, and from the photos he posted on his Twitter account, Starlink's speed in Ukraine -- at least at the Kutkov location -- is satisfactory.
From his post, it can be seen that the download speed obtained is 136 Mbps and the upload speed is 23 Mbps. He even admitted that his speed had penetrated 200 Mbps for a while.
Starlink's presence in Ukraine came after Musk was "pocked" by Fedorov on Twitter.
"@elonmusk, when you try to colonize Mars, Russia tries to occupy Ukraine! When your rocket successfully lands from space - Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civilians," Fedorov tweeted.
Musk responded to the tweet with confirmation of the active Starlink service in Ukraine, as well as a truckload of terminal equipment on the way.
"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals are on the way," Musk tweeted.
So far, internet services in Ukraine have been quite impacted by the Russian invasion, especially in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine, the areas that have been hit the most by Russian military operations.
You could say, even though it is very expensive, satellite internet technology like the one sold by Starlink is a very appropriate solution to overcome communication problems in Ukraine today. Because this technology can reach remote areas without the need to pull fiber optic cables.
As of January 15, SpaceX claims to have 1,469 active Starlink satellites and 272 other satellites awaiting entry into orbit.