Despite Iran's state-enforced internet blackout crossing 100 hours amid anti-regime protests, Tehran continues to use a number of measures to keep the people in the dark.
Elon Musk's satellite-based internet service, Starlink, has often been a refuge for people trapped in such blackouts, as it lets them connect to the internet with just a terminal, and without relying on towers or telecom agencies.
Despite the authorities cracking down on the use of Starlink—which is already illegal and a national security issue—reports say that a lot of the 50,000 terminals smuggled into the country are still in use.
However, over the last two days, the blackout is slowly starting to affect satellite internet as well, with military-grade jamming signals being used for more comprehensive blocking operations, as per an IranWire report, citing an internet researcher.
ALSO READ | ‘Iran better behave’: Trump warns of ‘strong action’ if Tehran executes protesters
The report added that about 30 per cent of Starlink’s uplink and downlink traffic was disrupted in the early hours, rising to more than 80 per cent within hours.
According to a Forbes report, this move, touted as a 'kill switch' mechanism, allegedly involves the regime using military-grade Russian tools to attack GPS signals in many areas—which Starlink's receivers use to locate and connect to satellites.
However, these tools, which have severely affected Starlink connectivity in many areas, do not come cheap, and reportedly cost about $1.56 million per hour of use.
Other reports claim that the Russian-origin tools also jammed the Starlink receivers themselves, rendering them incapable of receiving satellite signals.
Elon Musk's reaction
The SpaceX CEO, who had earlier announced free Starlink services for Iranians, is currently in talks with the Donald Trump administration and his engineers to "restore connectivity in Iran".
As the cat-and-mouse game between the Iranian regime and Starlink continues, it remains to be seen how long people in Iran can keep voicing their concerns online before everything goes dark.