Starlink: Freedom of speech or cyber threat?

On January 16, 2015, at a closed event in Seattle, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced a satellite network that would allow people anywhere on Earth to access the internet from space. At the time, the plan may have seemed like science fiction to many. Yet in just 10 years, that fiction has become a reality, with 10 million users in 155 countries. Even Uzbekistan’s neighbours Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are gradually connecting to the network. But why is Starlink still unavailable in Uzbekistan?

What is Starlink?

Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite internet system. Traditional internet networks rely on underground cables or mobile towers. Starlink, however, transmits the internet directly from space.

Its main difference from older satellite internet systems is altitude. Traditional geostationary satellites orbit at an altitude of 35,786 kilometres above Earth, while Starlink satellites operate at only about 550 kilometres in low Earth orbit. As a result, signal latency is 20-40 milliseconds, almost the same as ordinary home internet. Users install a small antenna, which connects to satellites orbiting above and provides internet access.

The project was announced in January 2015. The first test satellites were launched into orbit in 2018. In May 2019, 60 satellites were launched into space at once. Starting in 2020, the first users began testing the service in beta mode.

As of February 2026, Starlink had 10 million subscribers in 155 countries and more than 10,000 active satellites in orbit. Download speeds usually range from 50 to 220 Mbps. In 2025 alone, Starlink was launched in 42 new countries. Today, it has even become a military communications tool in the war in Ukraine.

Starlink in Central Asia

Although the project has not been operating officially for very long, several Central Asian countries have already connected to the Starlink network. Kazakhstan was the first in the region to take this step. At the end of 2023, the government tested Starlink terminals in rural schools as part of a pilot project. By mid-2024, more than 1,700 schools had been connected under the Accessible Internet programme.

On June 12, 2025, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development signed an official agreement with Starlink, under which the company undertook to comply with local security and communications requirements. On August 13, 2025, the service was officially opened to all users.

“Until now, Starlink had been operating in Kazakhstan in test mode and was only providing internet to schools. It was not officially available to the public. Now, finally, we have reached an agreement: the company has agreed to comply with all the requirements of our legislation in the fields of information security and communications. This year, they will implement all necessary measures, and our citizens will be able to officially and legally connect to satellite internet,” said Jaslan Madiyev, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry.

Tajikistan became the second country in the region to connect to the network. Before Starlink, only 41.6 percent of the population used the internet. Since 93 percent of the country’s territory is mountainous, laying cables has been difficult. The average mobile internet speed in the country was below 10 Mbps, and there were only around 6,000 fixed-line subscribers nationwide. After an agreement with Starlink was signed at the Dushanbe International Investment Forum in October 2025, the service officially launched in Tajikistan on February 5, 2026.

Bakhtovar Abdusattorzoda, Director General of Tojiktelekom, said the agreement is primarily aimed at connecting state and social institutions in hard-to-reach areas, including schools, hospitals and rural administrations.

Along with easier internet access, Starlink also brought greater freedom of information to Tajikistan. Since 2016, authorities had required all internet providers to route international traffic through a state-controlled Unified Electronic Communications Switching Centre, allowing broad monitoring of data transmission. During periods of unrest and protests, the government regularly blocked critical news websites, independent media outlets and social media platforms. In 2023, the international organization Freedom House gave the country only 5 points out of 100 in its global democracy assessment.

Finally, Kyrgyzstan officially connected to the Starlink internet network on May 25 this year. In April, the government announced that all permit procedures had been completed. The price of a Starlink equipment kit in the country was set at 36,270 soms.

Among Central Asian states, only Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan remain outside the network. Turkmenistan’s case is understandable, as the government’s closed policy naturally keeps it away from many international networks. But what about Uzbekistan?

Why is Starlink unavailable in Uzbekistan?

In fact, everything was expected to happen earlier. SpaceX, founded by American billionaire Elon Musk, announced in 2022 that it was ready to implement major projects in Uzbekistan. In May 2022, Uzbek delegation officials met with Starlink representatives and invited them to enter the country. Starlink was expected to launch its service in Uzbekistan in 2023. Uzbekistan could likely have connected to Starlink even before Kazakhstan. However, the launch was postponed to 2025. In August 2025, it was delayed again, this time to 2026. Due to the requirements of both sides and certain technical reasons, Uzbekistan has still not connected to the Starlink network.

One of the biggest problems is ground stations. For Starlink to operate, satellites in orbit are not enough. Gateway stations on Earth are also needed to connect the signal to major internet backbones. Kazakhstan is solving this issue in an interesting way: it plans to provide Starlink service to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan through its own gateway stations. In other words, Tajikistan receives the signal through Kazakhstan’s stations. For Uzbekistan, this issue has not yet been resolved, and Tashkent does not want to become dependent on Kazakhstan in this regard.

State-owned Uzbektelecom controls 98 percent of all fixed-line internet connections. This amounts to an open monopoly. If Starlink becomes a major provider in the country, users’ data could be collected by a private American tech company.

Starlink’s official privacy policy states that the company may collect users’ names, addresses, email addresses and bank card details. In addition, technical information such as geolocation and IP addresses is stored in SpaceX databases. Although the company claims it does not store information about which websites users visit or the content of their communications, the absence of a clear regulator still raises questions.

However, public interest in connecting to the network is high. In April 2026, during an inspection at the Jartepa border checkpoint in Samarkand region, a Starlink terminal hidden in the trunk of a car arriving from a neighbouring country was found. In Uzbekistan, however, importing satellite equipment without the relevant permits is strictly prohibited.

Even if Uzbekistan connects to Starlink, a large part of the population may still be unable to use satellite internet. In other countries, a Starlink terminal costs around $200-500, while the monthly subscription fee is about $110. Considering the average salary in Uzbekistan, this price is very high. In Tajikistan, subsidies are expected to reduce the cost of terminals by 30 percent. But does Uzbekistan really need such expensive internet today?

In short, the absence of Starlink in Uzbekistan is not only a technical or financial issue, but also a political headache. Information security, geopolitical competition and several other factors continue to keep Uzbeks away from the Starlink system.