Cuba is threatening the nation’s inhabitants with fines and other legal sanctions if they are caught using the “illegal” Starlink satellite service, Cuba-focused outlets reported on Monday.
The Castro regime maintains strict control of internet access and engages in draconian censorship policies through a de facto monopoly handled by ETECSA, the regime’s telecommunications company. Regular internet access in Cuba ranks among the world’s slowest and least functional despite its elevated costs, and what few “functional” hotspots exist are reserved for the nation’s regime-owned tourist hotels, which are out of reach for the millions of Cubans forced into extreme poverty by of six decades of communism.
Cuba is also one of the few Latin American nations in which Starlink is not officially available at at press time. Nevertheless, reports indicate that Cubans have successfully installed Starlink equipment in recent months as unspecified third-party sellers offer kits activated in other countries at highly elevated costs since at least September.
Cuba’s Radio Spectrum Control Technical Budget Unit (UPTCERCuba), an entity affiliated with the Cuban Communications Ministry, released a statement on social media over the weekend warning Cubans that the use of Starlink in Cuba could lead to the blocking of its frequency, the confiscation of the equipment, and fines.
The entity stated the use of Starlink violates “principles and regulations” such as the unauthorized use of the radio spectrum, as its parent company SpaceX does not have an agreement with Cuba over its use, nor does it have an operating license.
“All satellite services require a license from the national authority (in this case, the Cuban Ministry of Communications) and notification to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union]. Starlink does not comply with this requirement in Cuba, which makes it an illegal service under the international framework,” the statement read.
UPTCERCuba claimed that ITU, the United Nations body responsible for matters concerning information and communication technologies, “supports the right of countries to denounce and demand the cessation of unauthorized operations, as occurred in Iran in 2022, where the ITU ruled in favor of the Iranian government against Starlink.”
During the 2022 wave of protests in Iran, SpaceX owner Elon Musk announced that the company had deployed several starlink terminals to help circumvent internet censorship in the Middle Eastern nation. Iran, which declared Starlink illegal, brought the matter to the ITU and filed a complaint over the use of Starlink in its territory. The ITU issued a non-binding rule in favor of Iran in October 2023, urging Starlink to take “immediate action” to disable its terminals in Iran. Reports from January indicate that over 100,000 Iranians continue to use Starlink to circumvent the Islamic regime’s internet censorship policies.
UPTCERCuba continued its statement arguing that, although not an ITU standard, Cuban legislation prohibits the import and use of satellite equipment without state permission, which includes Starlink terminals, considered as “transceiver earth stations.”
The regime entity pointed out that, while the ITU could issue a “symbolic” resolution against SpaceX and has no coercive power, it “would affect its international reputation.”
“In short, Starlink violates the ITU Radio Regulations by operating without spectrum coordination or local authorization, infringing Cuban sovereignty over its radio spectrum,” the statement read.
Prior to the warnings from UPTCERCuba, ETECSA appeared to blame the barely functional quality of its internet and telecommunications services on “the persistence of illegalities, social indiscipline, and acts of vandalism for the development of the sector,” such as the use of “prohibited and non-approved communication equipment by unaware or unscrupulous people who interfere with the base station signal and deteriorate the quality of telephone service and mobile networks in specific areas.”
Kevin Castro Rodríguez, ETECSA’s deputy director, warned about the misuse of “illegal satellite equipment and connections,” claiming they threaten the “quality” of service and the sovereignty of Cuba’s radio electric spectrum. Castro also warned that using these connections could mean charges of criminal offenses with judicial responses contemplated by the regime’s Penal Code, which allows the application of “misdemeanors, seizures and, in extreme cases, the deprivation of liberty to the offenders.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
