Poland May Cut Funding for Starlink Due to Musk's Decision
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that Warsaw may reconsider its annual $50 million funding for the Starlink network. The reason was Elon Musk’s company’s decision to exclude Poland from the common European roaming zone.
“Hey, Elon Musk, big guy, stop discriminating against Polish Starlink users, or else we may reconsider our decision to pay you $50 million a year for your services,” Sikorski wrote.
According to Politico, the Polish foreign minister’s appeal came after Starlink decided to exclude Poland from the common European roaming zone, which covers more than 30 countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania.
Subscribers within this zone can cross borders with their terminals without restrictions on international use. Polish users, however, will now face additional requirements when traveling.
Starlink’s current guidelines state that Poland is not part of the aforementioned European region, while accounts registered in Poland are considered to be intended exclusively for use within that country.
Poland’s Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Hawkowski, also spoke out against Musk, accusing SpaceX—Starlink’s parent company—of treating Poles as second-class customers, and demanding that it clearly explain the legal basis for such changes.
“Poland is not a second-tier market. Polish customers are not second-tier customers,” the minister wrote on social media.
Gawkowski added that if SpaceX cites “local regulatory requirements,” Warsaw expects the company to point to specific regulations rather than provide “general explanations.”
The new rules apply to new customers signing up for the Starlink service starting July 14, and as of August 17, they will also apply to existing Polish users.
The minister wrote about this on social media.
Poland has filed a complaint against Starlink over its exclusion from European roaming.
In Poland, SpaceX was accused of discriminating against Starlink users.
