Starlink on the black market. This is how Iranians bypass the Internet blockade

Iranians cut off from the Internet for two weeks have been forced to use unofficial and very expensive services to maintain contact with family or access basic information.

NetBlocks, an organization supervising the Internet, described the situation in Iran as critical, recalling that this is the third cutoff of access to the Internet in this country in 2026.

Since legal access to the Internet is impossible, enterprising Iranians immediately appeared and offered their compatriots illegal access, using equally illegal Starlink systems. The prices are really black market, one gigabyte costs 7.5 million rials, or almost $6. To take advantage of the better connection, you need to purchase a 10-gigabyte package for 56 million rials, or $42.4, according to NetBlocks.

Iranians with access to social media describe this practice as “double pressure on citizens”, explaining that they are oppressed both by the ongoing war and by the costs they have to incur to stay in touch with their loved ones.

According to CNBC, Iranian officials and state media still have access to the Internet. Therefore, most of the population fears that this time they have been cut off permanently, and the Internet will be a privilege for the elites loyal to the regime.

Iran has implemented internet blackouts in the past and has always done so during periods of civil unrest. A situation similar to the current one occurred previously in January, when widespread protests broke out in the country.

However, this time it may not only be the Iranian regime that is behind cutting off the Internet.

“It's almost certainly a combination of both state-ordered destruction and external disruptions in cyberspace,” Kathryn Raines, cyber threat team leader at intelligence platform Flashpoint, told CNBC, explaining that the United States or Israel were likely pre-empting a potential Iranian cyberattack on their infrastructure.

(PAP)

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