France is considering the possibility of supplying Eutelsat satellite terminals to Iran to help citizens regain internet access after Iranian authorities imposed widespread online blackouts in an attempt to suppress the most severe domestic unrest the country has seen in decades.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Wednesday that Paris was examining a range of options, including the deployment of Eutelsat equipment, after a member of parliament asked whether France planned to send satellite terminals to Iran.
“We are exploring all possibilities, and the option you mentioned is among them,” Barrot told the lower house.
Eutelsat, which is backed by the French and British governments, owns OneWeb, the only low-Earth-orbit satellite network operating alongside Elon Musk’s Starlink.
These satellite constellations provide internet connectivity from space, offering broadband access to governments, businesses and individuals in areas with limited or disrupted infrastructure.
Iranian authorities have in recent days carried out a violent crackdown on protests against clerical rule, with reports from Rights groups suggesting that thousands of people have been killed.
At the same time, the government has enforced an almost total shutdown of internet services across the country.
Despite the restrictions, some Iranians have managed to access the internet through Starlink’s satellite service, according to three sources inside the country.
However, Alp Toker, founder of the internet monitoring organisation NetBlocks, said earlier this week that Starlink connectivity in Iran also appears to have been partially reduced.
Eutelsat declined to comment when contacted by Reuters about Barrot’s remarks or its operations related to Iran.
Starlink operates more than 9,000 satellites, enabling faster speeds than Eutelsat’s fleet of just over 600. Its user terminals are also cheaper and easier to install.
Starlink has played a crucial role in providing internet access to Ukraine’s military, helping to maintain communications on the battlefield during the war with Russia.
According to independent satellite communications consultant Carlos Placido, OneWeb terminals are larger and more vulnerable to interference.
He noted that Starlink’s vast satellite network makes jamming significantly more difficult, though not impossible. “With OneWeb, it is much easier to predict when a satellite will pass over a specific location,” Placido said, making disruption simpler by comparison.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 2 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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