Widespread jamming of the Starlink satellite internet service used by some Iranian opposition members is a likely first in peacetime but impossible to sustain nationwide, experts told AFP.
Tehran has sought to completely cut off internet access as protests sparked by economic grievances have gathered pace.
A blackout of the internet delivered by ground cables to PCs and mobile phone masts has lasted over three and a half days, connectivity monitor Netblocks said Monday.
It has also sought to block access to Starlink satellite internet service.
“I have been monitoring and researching access to the internet for the past 20 years, and I have never seen such a thing in my life,” Amir Rashidi, digital rights director with the Miaan human rights group, told specialist outlet TechRadar about the scale of the efforts.
Meanwhile jamming has targeted Starlink “for the first time at such high intensity,” said Kave Salamatian, a professor at France’s University of Savoie and co-author of a report on Iran’s internet access.
The satellite provider — owned by Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX — has been one way for people to get around Tehran’s centralised, fine-grained control over internet access.
But its service can be disrupted relatively efficiently by interfering with GPS signals, as base stations need to share their position with the satellite network so it can identify the nearest ground station.
An alternative method — blocking transmissions between the satellite and the ground terminal — would require a very large number of jamming devices, said Bryan Clark, an electronic warfare expert at the Hudson Institute Washington think tank.
Jamming equipment designed to target mobile phones is sold commercially and could be adapted to target Starlink systems with the right technical know-how, Clark added.
But “you can only jam over a small area… especially in an urban environment,” he said.
– ‘Cosy with Russia’ –
Starlink’s “constellation” of telecoms satellites circle in a low Earth orbit (LEO) around 550 kilometres (340 miles) above the ground.
Much like a mobile phone connecting to different base stations as a user moves around, Starlink terminals must constantly hand off from one satellite to another as they pass overhead.
This feature — unlike more traditional telecoms satellites in “geostationary” orbit over one spot on the Earth’s surface — means Starlink satellites and terminals “must have an antenna that accepts signals from a wider angle,” said Salamatian.
“That leaves it vulnerable to jamming from somewhere close to the antenna” on the ground.
The need to place jammers close to the receiver on the ground has hampered the efforts of Russian forces in Ukraine, where Kyiv’s troops are still using Starlink despite intense jamming, said a Western military source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Given the tight cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, including on missiles and drones for the Ukraine invasion, Iran may have received jamming equipment and most importantly know-how from Russia, the source added.
“Since Iran is very cosy with Russia, I assume there’s been a lot of technical exchanges,” Clark agreed.
One industry source noted however that with Russian needs in Ukraine at high levels, Moscow is unlikely to have spared much hardware for Iran.
– ‘Get the internet going’ –
Starlink has limited options to reduce the impact of jamming attempts.
“They will increase the power of the Starlink signal so that the jammer is less effective… that’s one thing that’s been done in Ukraine,” Clark said.
To counter GPS jamming, the latest Starlink software allows ground stations to triangulate their position using the network’s own satellites instead.
Meanwhile Starlink is operating “in a grey zone” of legality with respect to its terminals in Iran, which has for years been subject to harsh American sanctions, Salamatian noted.
For its part, Tehran has complained to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) about Starlink providing satellite internet service on its territory.
Washington at least appears unlikely to stand in Starlink’s way if it pushes to sustain Iranians’ access to its service.
“We may get the internet going… I may speak to Elon” Musk, President Donald Trump told reporters late Sunday.
“As you know, he’s very good at that kind of thing.”
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