IMPHAL: Militants in conflict-torn Manipur are utilizing Elon Musk‘s Starlink satellite internet to avoid government-imposed internet shutdowns, according to The Guardian, despite the fact that the service is not licensed in India.
According to reports, security and terrorist organizations acknowledged the use of the equipment, which is authorized in neighboring Myanmar.
According to reports, Starlink devices have provided internet connectivity in a number of places across the state.
A leader from the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA), a Meitei separatist group, acknowledged to using Starlink in Myanmar before discovering its capabilities in Manipur, according to the journal.
The service, run by Musk’s SpaceX, offers satellite-based internet and has apparently being touted as a solution for access in rural or limited places. According to the journal, its operations in India remain unauthorized.
A top police officer in Manipur said that a Starlink gadget, suspected of being smuggled from Myanmar, had recently been confiscated. The officer confirmed the service’s functionality near the Myanmar border, according to the article.
A resident of Imphal claimed seeing the equipment being used during an internet outage. “I was amazed to see that it worked. “It was during a time when no one else had internet access,” the person explained, speaking anonymously to avoid repercussions. Experts fear that technology might be misused, especially in conflict zones, heightening security worries in an already volatile region.
