Starlink can operate in Israel
November 28, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk made a high-profile and controversial visit to Israel on November 27th, meeting Bibi Netanyahu and touring some of the war-affected areas.
Musk’s visit also saw Israel’s Ministry of Communications confirm an agreement on Starlink operations over Israel – and potentially including the Gaza region providing the Ministry gives its specific approval for coverage.
Musk is quoted as telling Netanyahu that he wants to help rebuild Gaza.
The Starlink agreement is said to be vital for Israel in its conflict against Hamas. Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi announced the agreement on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. The Minister said Israel had “reached a principle understanding” with Musk, but Starlink has not confirmed the Israeli coverage.
Israel itself is one of the best-connected broadband nations on the planet. However, the Gaza region frequently suffers telephony outages. According to the Digital Quality of Life index published in 2022, Israel obtained the highest score of all countries- 0.76 out of 1. This ranking examines a few digital features in each country, including the quality and affordability of Internet services.
Statista data shows that the number of broadband users in Israel numbers more than 8 million, and is forecast to rise to 9.66 by 2028 and recent data download speeds averaged 95.66 Mb/s in November 2022.