For years, the population living on the Malvina Islands has complained about the poor internet connection and its costs, which in some way isolates them even more from the world. The telecommunications service is provided by Sure South Atlantic Limited through an agreement with the local government, which depends on the United Kingdom.
The emergence of Starlink , the satellite internet network from SpaceX , owned by Elon Musk, opened up other possibilities, although much more expensive. The British military who live at the Mount Pleasant base, the NATO fortress built by Great Britain three years after the 1982 war, and some fishing companies first used this service. But now, more and more islanders are hiring the service. The competition put the British company that has the monopoly on the service on alert, so the usurping government launched a threat to the 3,600 inhabitants. If it detects that any of them have Starlink, it could fine them 5,000 pounds, about 6,500,000 Argentine pesos, and even block their service.
The government's warning has caused a lot of anger among islanders. "We just want good internet service. The one that is available is terrible. The rest of the world has good service and here, we don't. There are many of us, maybe half the population, who are fed up," complained one islander who asked LA NACION to keep his name confidential.
The island government conveyed its concern to Starlink and opened a dispute of unknown scope. Elon Musk's company, now Donald Trump's star official, sent an email to all the islanders who had the service informing them that the local communications company in the Malvinas had ordered the service to be deactivated and that there were still no guarantees about when and where it could be reestablished.
The company suggested pausing payment for the service until the regulations are approved. This measure accentuated the discontent of the population, which, according to the 2021 census, is made up of 3,662 people of 60 different nationalities. Half of them are islanders.
A Starlink customer on the islands contacted the server to raise his concern and received a message that turned the controversy into politics, as the US company said it has “no specific information on the recognition of the sovereignty of the Malvina Islands.”
According to the response, a copy of which LA NACION had access to, Starlink argued that it is not authorized to provide the service in the territory by order of Sure South Atlantic Limited , the British company that has the agreement with the island government and that also has the monopoly on the islands of Ascension and Saint Helena, both also dependent on the United Kingdom.
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