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16 April
SpaceX clamps down on Starlink users in countries where the constellation isn’t approved, reports say
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 6, 2022. Red Huber/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is clamping down on access to its Starlink satellite-internet constellation from unauthorized countries, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Starlink customers in Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa have received notifications from SpaceX that their access will be terminated by the end of the month. Starlink has not been approved by regulators in those countries, according to the report.

PCMag reports that the decision has upset users in Africa, where internet speeds are often slow.

A growing black market has allowed users, including Russian military units in Ukraine and members of a brutal militia in Sudan, to bypass local restrictions on Starlink, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

SpaceX has not yet responded to a request for comment from MarketWatch.

On Friday, SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 booster used to send the satellites into space successfully landed on a drone ship, marking the 20th time a booster had been launched and landed, a first for SpaceX.

Last year, talk of an initial public offering spinoff swirled around Starlink, although Musk apparently nixed the possibility of this happening in 2024.