5,000 Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet terminals have already been delivered to Ukraine

The Ukrainian government has already received 5,000 Starlink terminals from Elon Musk's SpaceX aerospace company, which provide high-speed satellite internet. The delivery of this equipment to Ukraine was announced by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

In particular, it is known that Musk paid two — thirds of them (for.10 million), and the rest-the agency itself.

It was also reported that France and Poland financed part of the Starlink terminals for Ukraine.

USAID reported that it helped provide internet access in Ukraine through a public-private partnership with SpaceX.

The agency stressed that satellite terminals will provide unlimited uninterrupted data transmission from anywhere in Ukraine.

"The terminals will allow civil servants and critical service providers for citizens to continue to communicate in Ukraine and with the outside world, even if Putin's brutal aggression breaks the connection to Ukraine's fiber — optic or cellular infrastructure," the statement said.

Following Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, USAID began working closely with humanitarian partners in Ukraine and the region to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians.

The U.S. government is also expanding development programs to respond to cyberattacks, misinformation, threats to the energy sector, basic health needs, and to support the continuous functioning of local and national authorities.

"For citizens who want to help get vital help for Ukrainians in need, remember one thing: cash is best. This is because it is efficient, flexible and allows humanitarian organizations on the ground to quickly purchase the most necessary things," USAID concluded.

Starlink is a project of the American company SpaceX to develop a high-performance satellite platform for manufacturing communication satellites and launching a large number of them into space. The system provides access to broadband internet anywhere in the world.

On February 26, Elon Musk announced the launch of Starlink in Ukraine and the provision of appropriate equipment for this purpose.

The advantage of satellite internet is that access to it does not depend on the "wired" infrastructure, it can be used in hard-to-reach places, if there is equipment.

Starlink's internet speed is also high. Oleg Kutkov, an engineer from Kiev who has already tested the service, shared Speedtest data: the average download speed reached 136 MB/s (the maximum recorded figure was 200 MB/s), and the upload speed reached 24 Mb/s.

Currently, the cost of the terminal and antenna, which are necessary for setting up the internet, is 4 499, the monthly subscription fee is 9 99. from April 22, 2022, due to inflation, these prices will increase to.599 and. 110, respectively. At the same time, users can opt out of Starlink and get a refund for the equipment: the full cost if it is used for up to a month, or $200 if more.

Recall that on April 2, The Ministry of Digital Development reported that after the end of the war in Ukraine, they plan to build their own Starlink ground station from Elon Musk's SpaceX. This should improve the quality of satellite internet for all Ukrainians.