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Starlink, led by Elon Musk, has begun offering free internet access inside Iran. The move followed a phone call with Donald Trump and comes as Iranian authorities shut down nationwide connectivity while intensifying a crackdown on anti-government protests.
Official reports cite more than 1,800 protesters killed, though human-rights groups warn the true toll may be significantly higher due to a near-total communications blackout. Even regime insiders reportedly found themselves offline for days. Two cybersecurity researchers say that so-called “white” SIM cards—still functional during the 2025 Iran–Israel conflict—were disconnected this time as well.

Smuggling Terminals Across Borders, Years in the Making
A network of volunteers and technologists has launched smuggling operations to bring Starlink terminals into Iran, routing equipment through Iraqi Kurdistan and Armenia. One organizer—a software engineer who previously worked with Iranian authorities—left the country and now helps coordinate logistics. The group had prepared for a full shutdown for years.
The effort relies on a 2022 sanctions exemption that allows U.S. tech firms to provide communications tools in Iran. Introduced under Joe Biden, the exemption is now being used by SpaceX to deliver satellite connectivity during the current crackdown.
Users inside Iran can reportedly connect only in brief bursts. Terminals are hidden, powered on sparingly, and shut down quickly—amid drone patrols, neighborhood reporting, and security sweeps. Each connection carries risk.

State Pushback: Jamming and Seizures
Iranian state TV has displayed over 1,000 seized devices, including phones and signal boosters. The Ministry of Information claims the equipment was smuggled for espionage and to bypass the blackout.
Analyst Ahmadian says the government has deployed military-grade jamming against Starlink, similar to tactics used by Russia in Ukraine. Researchers at Project Ainita note that Iran has only two gateways to the global internet—Telecommunication Infrastructure Company and the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences—making nationwide cutoffs easier to enforce.
Doug Madory of Kentik says Iran has built its own “Great Firewall,” allowing only approved traffic. With just two international links, he adds, cutting access is technically straightforward.

An Ongoing Battle for Information
Activists occasionally manage to push videos online, but the signal flickers on and off. Many residents stay offline for safety, connecting only when necessary. Arrests continue, and the blackout persists.
Experts stress that Iran’s approach differs from China’s model. While Beijing replaced global platforms with domestic apps like WeChat and TikTok, Tehran relies on hard disconnections and physical control of infrastructure—and is now racing to contain Starlink before it takes hold.
The outcome remains uncertain. What is clear is that satellite internet has become a new frontline in the struggle between state power and civil society.

#starlink , #ElonMusk , #iran , #Geopolitics , #SpaceX
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Donald Trump has announced plans to consult billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk about deploying SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet to help reconnect Iranian citizens to the internet after authorities shut it down in response to widespread protests.
The former U.S. president emphasized that Starlink’s advanced technology could bypass local censorship and reestablish connectivity independently of Iran’s state-controlled infrastructure.

Iran Plunged into Digital Darkness Amid Protests
Iranian authorities have cut off internet access in most regions of the country amid ongoing protests. According to data from NetBlocks, connectivity across Iran has dropped to near zero and remains severely limited.
This blackout has crippled communication, leaving people unable to access news, use cloud services for work, study online, or send and receive money digitally. Journalists and human rights monitors are also struggling to verify information and monitor the extent of violence.
Iran relies on a centralized infrastructure that requires government authorization to operate mobile towers, fiber optics, and data centers. This gives officials total control and the power to shut down services at any time.

Starlink: A Signal from Space, Beyond Censorship
Starlink offers a unique lifeline: it connects users directly to orbiting satellites, bypassing local towers and cables. This makes it difficult for regimes to interfere with or block access.
Satellite internet has already proven its value in other countries facing authoritarian crackdowns. For Iranians, it could mean a return to basic freedoms in communication and access to outside information.

Trump: “Musk is the best at this”
Trump praised Musk’s technical expertise and said he plans to discuss how Starlink terminals could bypass Iranian censorship and reconnect people.
He stressed that it’s vital for Iranian citizens to read the news, talk to family members, and share their experiences with the outside world – especially during a time of fear and unrest.
However, Trump also noted that any such plan would need to navigate U.S. sanctions. Iran is subject to strict export controls on technology and services, meaning companies need special approval to provide internet hardware or access.

Iran Warns: Foreign-Controlled Internet Unwelcome
Iranian leaders have long warned citizens against using unauthorized satellite equipment and have actively jammed or blocked foreign signals. They view foreign internet infrastructure as a threat to national sovereignty.
Starlink would therefore face both technical and political resistance.

A New Alliance in the Making?
Beyond geopolitics, this initiative marks a potential rekindling of ties between Trump and Musk. The two had a strained relationship in recent years, especially after Musk criticized Trump’s tax policies.
But signs of reconciliation are emerging – including a private dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Their collaboration on Starlink for Iran could be the start of a new political-technological alliance.

🔹 Trump eyes Starlink to break Iran’s digital blockade

🔹 Iran cuts off internet to silence protests

🔹 Musk’s tech could reconnect citizens to the world

🔹 Sanctions and political tension pose major hurdles

🔹 Trump–Musk relations show signs of revival

#TRUMP , #ElonMusk , #starlink , #SpaceX , #Geopolitics

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China has taken a bold step into the global satellite race, directly positioning itself against companies like SpaceX and its Starlink network. According to Shanghai Securities News, the Chinese government submitted a request to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) late last year, seeking radio frequencies and orbital slots for more than 200,000 satellites.
If realized in full, this would become the largest satellite network ever conceived. Although the request doesn’t guarantee all satellites will launch, space industry experts say one thing is clear: China is making satellite internet a national strategic priority.

New Innovation Institute Driving the Ambition
At the heart of this megaproject is the newly established Radio Innovation Institute, launched on December 30, 2025, in the Xiong’an New Area. This government-backed initiative aims to optimize frequency use and accelerate China’s satellite internet industry.
The institute brings together seven founding institutions:

🔹 State Radio Monitoring Center

🔹 China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. – the country’s main satellite internet operator

🔹 Xiong’an Administrative Committee and Hebei’s Department of Industry and IT

🔹 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

🔹 Beijing Jiaotong University

🔹 China Electronics Technology Group Corporation
This “national team” model blends public, academic, and industrial expertise to build the future of space-based Chinese internet infrastructure.

Over a Dozen Satellite Constellations in the Works
The submitted applications cover more than a dozen different satellite groups. Some will consist of just a few dozen satellites, but others are massive.
The two largest networks — CTC-1 and CTC-2 — each include 96,714 satellites. Both filings came from the Radio Innovation Institute.
Other companies are contributing too:

🔹 China Mobile submitted plans for 2,520 satellites under the name CHINAMOBILE-L1

🔹 Yuanxin Satellite proposed 1,296 satellites for its SAILSPACE-1 system

🔹 Guodian Gaoke plans 1,132 satellites for its TIANQI-3G constellation
This mix of government-backed and commercial entities shows that China is embracing a hybrid public-private model for satellite development.

A Filing Isn’t a Launch: The Real Work Lies Ahead
Experts caution that filing with the ITU is just the beginning. China still faces significant technical, manufacturing, and financial hurdles. It currently lacks the full capacity — in rockets, production lines, and capital — to execute a project of this magnitude.
Still, the Radio Innovation Institute could play a key role in speeding up development. By combining national resources, leveraging China’s massive domestic market and strong industrial base, and coordinating state-level efforts, the institute might help China narrow the gap with SpaceX, which already has thousands of operational Starlink satellites providing global internet.

Can China Really Catch Up to Starlink?
The big question: Can China turn this vision into reality? Success will depend on multiple factors, including:

🔹 Long-term state funding

🔹 Engineering breakthroughs in satellite manufacturing and deployment

🔹 Effective cooperation with other nations through the ITU to resolve frequency and orbital slot conflicts
The space-based internet race is now fully underway. And with this filing for 200,000 satellites, China has made it clear: it wants to become a dominant player in the future of global connectivity.
Only time will tell whether this ambition becomes reality — or whether Western competitors will continue to lead the charge.

#china , #starlink , #technews , #SpaceX , #worldnews

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We retail investors love a good show — and right now, nothing is more explosive than the upcoming market clash between Sam Altman’s OpenAI and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
One promises to sell artificial intelligence to every business with a laptop.

The other wants to beam internet from space while building a bus to Mars.
But if you’re choosing who will truly dominate the stock market, the frontrunner is clear: OpenAI. At least, that’s the view of the author — and many analysts agree. Sam Altman, despite his flaws, has cleaner books, clearer revenue models, and a far more professional machine behind him.
Elon, meanwhile — charming as he may be — is still burning through mountains of cash to fund rockets, satellites, and Star Wars–style dreams.
And unlike Musk, Sam doesn’t miss deadlines quite so often.
We are on the verge of witnessing three of the biggest tech IPOs in history as OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic race to pull in as much capital as possible from a market still intoxicated by the AI boom. Sure, many people still like Elon… but the fatigue is real.
People want results. They want a plan. They want a CEO who isn’t firing off thousands of controversial tweets in his mid-50s, calling for the dissolution of the EU or — astonishingly — advocating war crimes.

Elon’s rocket math no longer works for retail investors
Musk keeps distracting the audience with shiny objects and online drama, but Tesla shares are down year-over-year, the financials are underwhelming, and investors are beginning to treat him like a friend who never pays you back.
This is the same Musk who attended a dinner with President Trump to celebrate the illegal capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro — and then publicly called him an alleged pedophile in a now-infamous deleted tweet. His political extremism helped push Tesla off its throne as the world’s largest EV maker in 2025, and sales have fallen sharply across global markets.
Trump even claimed Musk is “addicted to fentanyl and almost never sober.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI is quiet on the outside but ruthless on the inside. Altman is winning lawsuits, staying focused, and chasing enterprise contracts. The legal fight between him and Musk over OpenAI’s origins continues in San Francisco — and Sam showed up heavily armed. His legal firepower? Morrison & Foerster and Wachtell Lipton.
Musk’s legal bench? Small boutique firms — plus one guy who moonlights as a clown, Jaymie Parkkinen. “None of my comedy friends believe I’m a lawyer,” Parkkinen admitted. That’s not a metaphor. It is written in court transcripts.

OpenAI is already making money — real money
This is where the gap becomes obvious.
ChatGPT is not just a cool product — it’s a full-fledged enterprise engine. Microsoft invested billions. Companies pay subscriptions. Every API call means revenue. Yes, compute costs are high, but demand is higher.
Once OpenAI hits the stock market, it will roar.
Even Jim Cramer weighed in:

“The biggest winner from limiting power-gating could be META,” he said, “because it can cut costs — and OpenAI won’t be able to build its expensive infrastructure: not enough workers, not enough equipment.”
Maybe. But once OpenAI opens the floodgates of public capital, everything changes — fast.

Retail investors prefer banks over chaos
OpenAI reached a valuation of $500 billion in October and now aims to double it through a $1 trillion IPO. Wall Street loves anything that produces predictable cash flow — especially one that doesn’t need government subsidies, NASA babysitting, or a launch pad.
SpaceX, meanwhile, sold shares last December at an $800 billion valuation, and Musk insists he will list the company in Q4 2026. But every Musk timeline feels the same: loud, self-confident — and utterly unreliable.
Starship is still delayed.

Starlink has become a strange hybrid of telecom service and satellite monopoly.

Yes, it might one day produce consistent revenue — but right now it’s burning cash in orbit with no clear business model.

IPO analysts are calling this a market-shifting moment
Samuel Kerr of Mergermarket says this wave of IPOs could reshape how tech companies raise capital. For years, firms stayed private to shield intellectual property from reporting requirements. Now, the AI arms race demands money — billions of dollars. Staying private simply doesn’t work when you need 100,000 GPUs.
That’s why these IPOs are happening.
JPMorgan’s Matthieu Wiltz confirms a “strong demand environment,” with deal value up 47% despite global tariffs and wars. “There is excess liquidity,” he told Bloomberg. “We even decline deals when we think there are no covenants.”
But when structure exists — JPMorgan is ready.

And OpenAI has structure.

SpaceX valuations? Mostly hype
Kerr floated the idea of SpaceX hitting a $1.5 trillion valuation. But it’s just speculation. Retail investors have been burned before. They remember promises. They remember earnings calls. And yes — they remember the crashes.
Generation Z investors prefer Sam over Elon. Nobody makes TikToks about Starship engines.

But everyone uses ChatGPT.

Final verdict: The winner seems obvious
While Musk is juggling politics, scandals, legal chaos, and multi-billion-dollar hardware challenges, Sam Altman is staying laser-focused:
predictable revenue,massive global user base,enterprise adoption,deep-pocketed partners,and a product already embedded into daily life.
OpenAI looks like the next great stock-market titan.

SpaceX looks… visionary, expensive, and chronically late.
And investors — especially younger ones — are casting their votes with their wallets.
The real battle of Silicon Valley has begun. And Sam Altman is currently leading.

#ElonMusk , #SpaceX , #SamAltman , #OpenAI , #AI

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When SpaceX's valuation skyrocketed from 400 billion to 1.5 trillion within six months, and when xAI swallowed the X platform to form a hundred billion AI giant, Musk's business empire is playing a grand game that spans across space and AI. His mentioned 'three trillion market value target', is it a crazy fantasy or a step-by-step layout?

The confidence of rocket-style valuation
SpaceX's 1.5 trillion valuation is not reliant on a single aerospace business. Starlink satellite internet monopolizes 65% of near-Earth orbital resources, holding the privilege of 'light-speed network in a vacuum'; the Starship rocket progresses smoothly, which could support lunar and Mars missions in the future; the space data center plan directly addresses the computing power pain points of the AI era—natural cooling and unlimited solar energy, advantages that leave ground data centers far behind. This 'physics arbitrage' logic allows SpaceX to break out of the traditional aerospace valuation framework.

🚀 SpaceX Kicks Off 2026 With Successful Launch of Italian COSMO-SkyMed Military-Civil Satellite
Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA — January 2, 2026 — SpaceX opened its 2026 launch manifest on a high note with a successful Falcon 9 mission carrying Italy’s advanced COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3) satellite into orbit. This mission marks the first orbital launch of the year and reinforces SpaceX’s role as a key provider of global access to space for both government and international clients. (Space)
🛰️ Mission Overview
At 6:09 p.m. Pacific Time on January 2, 2026, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, delivering Italy’s Earth observation satellite into a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit at approximately 620 km altitude. Approximately 13 minutes after liftoff, the COSMO-SkyMed spacecraft separated from the second stage and began its mission operations. (Space)
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster — Booster B1081 — completed a successful landing shortly after liftoff, marking another milestone of SpaceX’s reusable launch system capabilities. (Daily Galaxy)
🇮🇹 Dual-Use Satellite With Strategic Importance
The COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation program is a state-of-the-art dual-use Earth observation constellation developed jointly by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian Ministry of Defence, with the spacecraft built by aerospace leader Thales Alenia Space. The CSG-FM3 satellite uses advanced X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), enabling high-resolution imaging under all weather and lighting conditions — a critical capability for military reconnaissance, disaster response, environmental monitoring, and climate research. (Space)
Italian officials have emphasized the program’s collaborative nature, saying it exemplifies strong public-private synergy between government agencies and the national space industry. (ANSA.it)
🌍 Enhancing Earth Observation & International Cooperation
The launch increases the COSMO-SkyMed constellation’s strength to five operational satellites, improving imaging frequency and data delivery for both civilian and defense applications worldwide. Beyond national priorities, the data gathered by this constellation supports international initiatives in emergency management, urban planning, and environmental sustainability. (Space)
For SpaceX, this mission not only represents a successful start to the year but also underscores the company’s ongoing importance as a trusted launch partner for global space programs. (Daily Galaxy)

#SpaceX #COSMOSkyMed #Falcon9 #SatelliteLaunch #EarthObservation #SpaceNews #Italy #Aerospace #SpaceTechnology #DualUseSpace #2026Launches