Photo: SpaceX
Starlink low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet has been spreading rapidly around the world, and SpaceX has just announced another new country to gain access to the service.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet has become operational in Moldova, as shown on the Starlink availability map on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after SpaceX cut the price of Starlink in France by 50% as part of a pilot project, while also introducing a 250GB data soft cap.
Moldova is in between Romania and Ukraine, two countries that also have some level of access to the service.
SpaceX Cuts Starlink Pricing in France by 50%, Debuts 250GB Soft Data Cap https://t.co/d5HftrtRFp
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) August 3, 2022
After Russia invaded Ukraine, SpaceX made Starlink internet available to the country following a request from Ukrainian official Mykhailo Federov.
Now Ukraine has over 12,000 active Starlink users in the country, with nearly 150,000 active daily users.
SpaceX’s aid in providing Starlink service and hardware to Ukraine has reportedly caught the attention of military officials in China, causing concerns that the service could be used to support Taiwan or to conduct surveillance on China’s affairs.
Most of the Starlink dishes sent to Ukraine earlier this year were funded primarily by France and Poland, with SpaceX sending around four rounds of Starlink terminals to the country.
SpaceX was also applauded for resisting Russian cyberattacks with Ukraine’s Starlink internet.
Last month, SpaceX requested the use of a 2GHz radio band in the U.S. for a mobile Starlink service.
